Oh My Alucard
by Fish and Chipz
Summary: A girl finds herself being seduced by Alucard. Alucard x OC. Rated M for violence and strong language. COMPLETE
1. Pride and Prejudice and Vampires

I feel as though my knowledge of Hellsing is extremely limited; I've only seen up to Episode 7 of the anime, and Alucard is really difficult to get in character. I've been reading a few OC fics and everyone's story is so freaking good! Makes me kinda nervous, actually…so, I'm really sorry if any parts don't make sense, is inaccurate, is too cliché, or it's too OOC. I just really wanted to write a Hellsing fic. ..hope you enjoy it anyway!

**(UPDATE OCTOBER 2011) Original Summary:** Its hard being a nurse who works the graveyard shift - all sorts of weird things happen, like a vampire going after you and calling you his mate. Alucard x OC

_Italics_ – OC's thoughts

_**Italics and Bold**_ – Alucard mind speaking

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

_Pride and Prejudice and Vampires_

Gasping, her eyes flew open and she sat up in bed, sweating. Somehow, just _somehow_… she woke up only to realise she was chewing on a corner of her duvet. Her expression scrunched up and she pulled it out, wiped at her mouth, and yawned. Then she looked around her room. The blinds were still drawn shut, her room mate snoring loudly in the bed beside hers.

She yawned once more. "That stupid nightmare…again." She mumbled, before flopping back over her bed. She'd been having nightmares of being in an odd and lone, dark corridor and getting stalked by some…_something_… not a_someone_. She would never know what it was, only that it had glowing red eyes that were always staring at her persistently in the darkness. Highly distressing, but not enough to reduce her to waking up in tears. Numb and tired from having such depressing dreams, she snuggled into her pillow, ready to drift back to sleep again but then –

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

She growled and whipped the covers off her, then lifted her leg and slammed the digital alarm clock that was on the floor with her heel, shutting off the snooze function. With the quiet, golden silence returning, Ruby let her eyelids droop and –

"Whoohoo! Alright! Rise and shine!"

Ruby's eyes flicked open and over to her perky roommate, who was now getting up. Groaning, Ruby slammed half of the pillow over her ears, while still resting her head on the remaining half. "Ngghh…."

"Ruby! Ruby!" A pillow was rammed repeatedly over her head and all over body like how one would whack-a-mole, " - Ruby, get up! You lazy pig!"

The covers were suddenly pulled away, and shuddering, Ruby blinked glumly at her roommate who was now prodding at her with a finger. "Noooo, Gwen…" She drawled deliriously, "… Please, I wanna just go back to sleep…"

"Nonsense! The graveyard shift beckons ussssss!"

She sighed, admitting defeat, and sat back up, just as her roommate threw a sweater over her head and barked at her to get dressed.

Ruby was a first year trainee nurse.

She was required to do one graveyard shift a week. Her life felt pretty complicated. At twenty years of age, Ruby was dedicated to her work, determined… but still a little bit naïve, as her friends and Gwen had not-so-kindly pointed out. She moved out of her parents and into the dormitory to pursue her Nursing degree; the hospital she worked in was called 'St Josephine's Infirmary'. It was a proud, centuries old building that withstood two world wars and fungus rot eating away at its plumbing system. Originally from Kent, Ruby was far from home. She had always wanted to be a nurse; she enjoyed helping people and hoped to make her parents proud – they were both doctors and had frowned upon such an occupation, but something deep inside her knew she would settle for being a nurse and would be just fine.

A graveyard shift started at 11pm, finishing at 6am. Usually, it was quiet and nothing happened because most patients were asleep. The graveyard shift only consisted of patrolling and doing regular check-ups.

Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

Yawning, Ruby put on the cardigan that was part of the condemned nurse's uniform. The nurse uniform was actually snubbed by girls in her year as being 'unsexy' and 'fugly' because of the beige dress that went to mid-calf and the matching cardigans. The cap was also sneered upon and resented, and one day, Ruby was told that nurse uniforms were now deliberately 'grannyfied' to deter male patients due to a recent peak of harassment towards female hospital workers.

Wandering out of a corridor and into reception, Ruby spotted Gwen at the desk on the phone, giggling away. "Gwen…" Ruby began, "What are you doing?"

"Oops! I gotta go now, bye Chet-dear!" And Gwen hung up immediately. "Yes m'dear?"

"…Was that Chet the Security Guy you were flirting with on the phone?"

"Yeah."

Ruby sighed. "I heard rumours that those guys don't do their jobs properly. Now I know why."

"Aww, don't be like that! Chet's a really good guy!"

Ruby wasn't sure what to say to that but averted her attention at a notepad that was settled in front of Gwen. "And what's that?"

"Oh. I was checking stock levels before Chet called."

"Are we short on a lot of stuff?"

Gwen nodded, tapping her temple with her pen. "Hey Ruby, you don't mind going down to the storehouse to get some stuff, do you? I can't go 'cos I need to stay at reception."

Going to the storehouse? The one place Ruby despised the most, especially at night-time? She cracked a smile. She did not like to disappoint or refuse. It might harm her work rate. And Gwen might get pissed. "…O-Of course not. I'll go. Tell me what I need to get."

A list was handed to her and Ruby scanned the list of items; she would have to make multiple trips to the storehouse… Nevertheless, she nodded and set off. The storehouse was in the basement of the hospital, near the carpark. It was only accessible by staff, of course, with a special keycard. Ruby left the hospital grounds and into the cold night with a gurney for transporting the supplies, staring at the dark sky as she listened to the wheels rumble over the pebbled ground. Ohh how much she hated the graveyard shift…

As she crossed the car park to get to the storehouse door, she stared up at the CCTV camera at one of the corners, facing the exit and entrance. The car park wasn't a very scary place despite being dimly lit and practically devoid of human presence. …it was just…

…Ruby felt like she was being watched.

"I better hurry up…The sooner I get this over with, the better," She murmured, until a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind. "Hey, what the – "

"Don't move."

A man's voice. It was typical something like this would happen. How could it not? A girl was on her own at an empty car park at 2am in the morning….

But Ruby had no idea where the mysterious man come from, whether his intentions were malevolent or benevolent, or how he had managed to sneak up on her like that in the first place. Upon closer inspection of the man, she realised he was sweaty, his face pale and ashen. His pupils were dilated, and trembling. In his other hand, was a gun. Ruby stepped back immediately in terror, letting go of her trolley. A robber! Oh god oh god oh god. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the trolley before he slammed her face flat against the grimy wall of the carpark, her cheek smushing with the gritty, dirty bricks. The nozzle of the gun was pressed to Ruby's temple and she flinched at the unfamiliar contact.

"Need…." He moaned out, his grip on her tightening, "Need to…. F-Feed… must have…blood…"

He left his sentence trailing and Ruby froze when she felt his free hand sweep back her hair over one shoulder. "What are you – "

"Quiet." He hissed, and he finished tucking her hair over her right shoulder, exposing the side of her neck to him. She then heard her mysterious assailant let out a shuddering groan before she felt chilly, clammy breathing all over her neck. She trembled furiously under his grip, still with the gun to her head.

_Someone, help!_

And then -

"Preying on lone women in the dead of night just for a few drops of blood…."

The new voice that echoed around the lonely car park caught attention from both.

"You cannot even control your hunger. How _pathetic_."

"W-What the - ? Who's there?" The man peeled her off the wall and clamped his arm tightly around her neck. "Show yourself!"

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. She had no idea what was going on except from: _I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to FREAKING DIE!_

But then the same, slithery voice came again, echoing around the lonely car park. "…As you wish…"

Ruby's eyed widened at the sight of a tall man in red emerged slowly from the shadows. He was…. well, odd. She hadn't seen anyone wear such an outlandish outfit since…well, the Victorian era? The red duster… the red fedora… and what were up with those sunglasses? Judging by appearances aside, Ruby wondered why this strange man was here in the first place.

On the other hand, the man holding her captive tightened his hold on her ten fold. "S-Stay back!" He yelled threateningly, although he sounded absolutely petrified at the same time. "Stay away! Or I shoot! I'll shoot her in the goddamned head!" The gun was pressed harder against her temple and she squeezed her eyes shut again, then began murmuring a quick prayer.

_I never believed in God before, but if God exists, please, I don't want to die!_

"Hey you! Cut that out!" Her attacker yelled when he realised she was praying, his arm crushing down on her throat.

The strange tall man in red hesitated for a brief moment just as Ruby levelled his gaze, her eyes trembling with terror before a voice swarmed into her mind –

_**Human.**_

She blinked.

_**Speak to me.**_

_Did he just…? In my mind! How did he do that? Why is he… What the…_

_**That man holding you hostage**_, the strange tall man's voice echoed in her mind again, _**is a **__**vampire**__**.**_

There was a slight silence, then - "A what what?" Ruby said out loud. She could not believe her ears. _Surely he jest_, she thought bitterly as the so-called 'vampire' tightened his hold on her.

_**He will not let you go. He will kill you, and feed on you.**_

It didn't stop her from shaking under the so-called 'vampire's' grip. "…So…so what do I do?"

_**You? **_There was a snicker._** Nothing.**_

The conversation continued in her mind. _N-Nothing?_

_**There is nothing you can do. But I have two options for you, human**_, The tall man in red added, _**I will shoot you in the lungs, thus shooting him in the heart.**_

The vampire was yelling again but Ruby couldn't hear, still engrossed with the conversation in her mind. "W-What the hell's wrong with you two? Why are you staring at him like that? Why are you – "

A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. "…What's the second option?"

_**You can risk it all, and try to escape. But I do not guarantee your survival. Your fate rests in your hands.**_

"So I'm going to die either way?"

_**Most likely, yes.**_

The options didn't appeal to her at all.

_**Will you come with me?**_

_Huh? …Will I come with… you? WHAT? Of course not! Are you insane? I barely know you! I still have a family to support and a cat to feed at home!_

The tall red man was steely silent. _**I respect your decision.**_

"H-Hey, wait! That doesn't mean I want to die!"

_**This is the only way.**_

_Who are you anyway? This guy has a gun! You'll get hurt!_

A smirk. _**You should be more concerned about yourself, human.**_

Being killed by a 'vampire' or a gun? No way! She was only 20. She was still a trainee nurse. And yes, she still had her cat to feed at home. She still had a loving family and friends. Sure, they were often irritating as hell, but now, they were god's blessing to her at this precise moment. She had so many things she wanted to do – she wanted to go sky-diving, skiing, horse-riding… anything she hadn't had the chance to do… Gritting her teeth, Ruby clenched her knuckles so hard they went as white as a sheet, and -

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

With a roar, she used newfound strength to lean down and bite her attacker in the arm that was lodged around her neck in a matter of seconds.

The action stunned both men standing opposite each other, but the attacker let go of her promptly and Ruby went flying to the side. The tall man in red used this opportunity to whip out a silver gun and shoot – but so did the vampire with his own gun in his intact arm, and – _BLAM_!

At first, Ruby thought she had been shot. It had been close.

Instead, she felt a searing hot pain in her arm and realised he'd shot her in the arm in process.

A gunshot so close was deafening. It was truly a terrifying and ominous sound to be heard in the dead of night.

She fell to the ground, cradling her aching arm. Sniffling, she sat back up, then hastily checked herself and realised aside from her arm, she was unharmed. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw both men fall. The tall red man took the bullet in the chest and doubled backwards, collapsing on his back on the car park gravel. His hat and those red-tinted goggle sunglasses fell askew off his nose. The vampire caught a silver bullet to the forehead and instantly exploded into a dust cloud - all over her, too.

The car park fell silent.

In her state of shock, she lay there on the sidelines in disbelief, before finally mentally kicking herself to get moving and see if the Strange Tall Man in Red was okay or not. She approached him cautiously; his eyes closed. Ruby hastily dropped by his side and shook him by the arm, careful not to shake him too hard, because she knew he was wounded and the last thing she wanted to do was aggravate it.

"…H-Hey… wake up…"

He didn't respond.

It was then Ruby had a much better view of him; he was in his maybe late twenties to early thirties… Guessing people's age was an ability Ruby was never gifted with; she usually offended more people and resorted to avoid attempts to guess people's ages to evade misunderstandings and awkwardness. Dare Ruby say it, but he looked _younger_ and not so creepy without his hat and sunglasses…like a completely different person. His hair was jet black and tousled, falling over his eyes and curling just past his ears. His nose was long… perfectly angled…. his jawline rugged and sharp, and Ruby stared, a little curiously. There was something odd about his features but she couldn't place what…

"…W-Wake up…"

But then she remembered what exactly had just gone on and immediately concentrated back on more important matters. Her bleeding arm was ignored. She shook him once again, ignoring the fact that there was a lot of blood gurgling out from under him that was seeping into her skirt.

"…Can you hear me?"

She couldn't see the bullet; it was possibly wedged deep inside his flesh, or perhaps it had exited him. Yet, she saw his chest rise steadily and placed a finger just under his nose and found him still breathing, if not, a little sluggishly. Nevertheless, she sighed a breath of relief then moved over to place her ear against his chest to search for a heartbeat.

There was none.

Ruby recoiled in horror and stared at the man before immediately transforming into her emergency casualty mode. Her mind was hazy with just one thought: _save him_! If she couldn't save him, she'd be forever disgraced as a nurse. Yet she didn't even think twice about why a man was, or could be 'breathing' even though he had no heartbeat. Ruby recollected everything she'd learnt during first-aid lessons which she had attended with 100 per cent vigilance while Gwen doodled in her notepad or texted her boyfriend.

She slammed both hands over his chest where his heart should be and applied pressure in rhythmic thrusts of her palms. "Come on! Don't die on me! Not when you just saved my life! I'm...I'm not worth it! Oh god, please don't die, strange tall man!" She wasn't even sure what she was saying, but she was suddenly belting all her thoughts out for the world to hear. "You must have a family at home! A wife! Kids! A...A-A dog! Think about them! Don't leave them behind!"

When he still didn't wake up or show any sign that he was responding, she deduced that he was lacking in oxygen. Without hesitating, Ruby pried his mouth open and pressed her mouth over his, trying to get some air in. When she pulled back, she returned to hammering at his chest again.

"Come on! Wake up! …_You have to wake up_!"

Dying outside a hospital seemed ironic. When nothing happened, Ruby still didn't give up. She continued on with her resuscitation routine but then –

His eyes suddenly flew open - - Just when Ruby was about to give him some more oxygen, her mouth hovering just millimetres above his.

Before she had a chance to pull away, his arm slammed down around the back of her neck and pulled her down that her lips smashed over his roughly. She fell over him entirely, her gasps and cries muffled. This time, the contact felt different - It wasn't Ruby trying to save someone's life - it was a kiss; hot, passionate, but rough. Suddenly, his mouth released hers and clamped over the side of her neck. Ruby's eyes widened thoroughly when she felt something sharp penetrating her skin. Flailing, she bundled her fists and tried to get him off her.

The man was biting her! He was _**biting**_ her!

In the neck, too!

She temporarily froze when she felt something long, wet and sticky dragging up and down over her nape frenziedly, particularly at the throbbing spot where he had just bit her. She shivered fiercely when she realised… It was his_tongue_. Ruby flailed helplessly and eventually felt his grip on her loosen - she pulled away at the opportunity, cupping her hand over her neck which was mingled with warm saliva and blood. To her utmost surprise, the wound itself was not bleeding, but she felt some slight bumps on her skin and gasped.

"Ewww…gross…" She used her cardigan sleeve to wipe her neck dry.

The man who had just bit and licked at her neck suddenly collapsed back over the car park floor, now fully awake, although the expression on his face resembled one who had just injected himself with some hallucinating drug. The corner of his mouth was stained with blood, which he slowly licked away. He let out a groan before closing his eyes, his lips forming a grin.

_What the? Grinning at a time like this? _"Y-You bit me!" She screeched in horror when she realised he didn't seem intent on explaining WHAT THE HELL HE JUST DID, "No, not only did you bite me, but you – "

"Kissed you?" He finished for her, "You were doing the same to me earlier on when I was taking a nap."

"N-NAP? I thought you were… What kind of… what I don't even – "

The man flicked his startling orangey-red eyes to her. "My dear girl, I'm afraid you're not making much sense at the moment…"

"You bit me!" She repeated exasperatedly, "And what…what the hell did you do to that man?"

"You forgot? Did I not tell you that that man was not a man, but a vampire. A creature. A bloodthirsty monster of the night. … Nosferatu… Freak…"

"…Uh…"

"Your gratitude is most underwhelming."

"…Er – " She didn't know how to respond to that, and when he rewarded her with a long, hard stare, she flushed slightly and nibbled on her bottom lip, "…W…_What_?"

"You beckoned me."

"I did not. I don't even know who you are!" And she didn't think she wanted to, either.

"I heard your voice. Calling me. Pleading me for help." He seemed amused. He turned his head away and laughed, as if her words had been a disturbingly, sick joke. In fact, at the moment, life felt like a bit like a sick joke. Ruby shivered; she had never heard someone laugh so… so sinisterly before. It made shivers run down her spine.

Suddenly, he let out a low grunt, and Ruby's jaw dropped to the ground when she saw the unimaginable – there was an awful squishing noise before the tip of the bullet was slowly rising up from his chest as if he was forcing it out of his body himself. It popped out of his flesh, rolled off him, and clattered onto the floor. Just like that.

"HOLY SHIT!" Immediately, Ruby scuttled away from him like a crab, staring at him in shock.

He stood up, and her jaw dropped again for the millionth time in no less than twenty minutes. She had never seen… well, this kind of rapid recovery before. There was nothing like this in her textbooks. A grown man, shot in the chest with a gun that was surely meant to be lethal or at least crippling. And here he was, standing and talking to her as if nothing had happened. He was also no longer bleeding.

"….Y-You're…okay?"

He didn't reply, partially because anyone with eyes could see that he was okay. It was typical of Ruby to point out the obvious. He bent down to pick up his fedora and his sunglasses, which were intact. He propped the flimsy-brimmed hat over his head and replaced his sunglasses, and turned to her.

"You – what are you – and why did he – wait, _Vampire_?"

He gazed patiently at her, then averted his eyes to the pile of dust in the corner. "…. If you are wise, human – and I know that none of you, particularly young female fledglings like yourself,_ are_ – you would not venture into such dismal places like these by yourself at this forlorn time of night…"

Had he just insulted her? In the most aristocratic way… or whatever the hell that kind of manner of speech was… It was just plain patronising. The way how you spoke to a kid, or a dog. Mostly a dog.

"I'm working." Ruby pointed to the trolley, although it didn't make a difference. "… No, no, that's impossible, vampires aren't _real_." _This man is CUCKOO!_

He responded to her with a smirk before he turned away, to…. leave?

"…Where are you going?" She found herself asking.

"There are more of the wanderers." He merely replied, with a leering grin, "In there."

He was gesturing to the hospital.

"…Vampires?" She squawked, "…Wait! I don't understand… what-what happened back there? I…I thought I heard your voice in my mind – " Oh, how terribly _sane_ that sounded. Ruby cringed all over again.

He smirked. In fact, she realised he had been smirking the entire time she was talking to him and he couldn't seem to stop. In fact, because he was smirking; she wasn't sure she could take him seriously enough. Those must be some awesome cheek muscles, she thought. "You can believe whatever you want, human." He said, still with the never-ending smirk on his face, "…Perhaps ignorance to the truth is indispensable if you wish to carry on with your ignorant lifestyles."

She leapt back immediately when he stepped closer to her. "Whoa! Hold it! Don't come any closer, or-or I'll scream and call security!" Yes, this man is not normal. Hell, she just witnessed him EJECT a bullet out of his body, like the way a DVD player ejected out a…well, a DVD.

He looked around himself, then turned to her again. "If security was so well established…you would not have been attacked in the first place."

Ruby bit down on her lip. She really had no idea if this man was sane or insane. The scale was tipping in favour to 'insane', however. "Well, you should go get yourself checked at the emergency department and leave me alone." It was meant to be an insult but also a remark of concern at the same time.

"Why the sudden cold shoulder, nurse? You seemed to enjoy attempting to resuscitate me. In fact… You handled my…. 'situation' in an extremely professional manner."

Oh yes. Situation. It turned out he was 'napping', not actually 'dying'. "It's my job and duty to help and save people." _Why am I even still talking to this guy?_

"I assumed caring for your patients were one of your virtues."

"…Not when they bite you after you save their life."

"Did you really now?" He smirked at her; she had never seen one's lips spread so back before. His cheeks literally disappeared, as his wicked lips stretched all the way to his ears, exposing sharp, bloodied teeth.

She swallowed down as her gut became swamped with a bad feeling just by staring at those chompers. Holy macaroni, they looked like they could bite through steel….

"Do you _**really**_ think you saved my life?"

And was this really something to say to a budding nurse? She felt her self confidence wither away like sand in the wind. Ruby meekly threw her glance to her shoes and he slinked closer to her, although 'slink' was perhaps the wrong word – he moved so fast it was almost as if he literally teleported directly in front of her that her nose almost touched the expertly-tied red cravat that was around his neck.

She stepped back hastily as his height loomed over her, casting a shadow over her entirely. "When did you – " And when he seized her wrist, she yelped and struggled. "H-hey, let go….What do you want…?"

To her surprise (again), he lowered his face and sniffed at her wrist, pressing his nose against her flesh, particularly at her pulse. Her heartbeat soared off the charts. Their close proximity allowed Ruby another closer look of him.

_What's up with this guy? Why is he sniffing me? And why is he wearing such weird clothes? It's like he came out from a Pride and Prejudice movie. Yeah, the warped version…that book… what was it called again? Oh yes, Pride and Prejudice and ZOMBIES._

"Intriguing…." He murmured, "…. I have never come across a delectable scent before...Pardon my impoliteness, but I simply must know more about you…"

Ruby thought she was insane herself to still be so polite around him. If she had her purse with her, however, she figured she probably wouldn't stop hitting him with it. Argh! Where was a purse when you needed one? "Sorry, I'm not interested. Since you seem to be fine, I'm going." With that, Ruby spun round on her heel and began storming back to the staircase that led back to the hospital. _Trust Gwen to make me her ruddy lapdog, always running errands and fetching stuff for her while she does nothing. Bet you she's chatting up Chet the Security Guy again…_

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace from behind. Ruby squirmed viciously in his hold, but stopped just as she felt his mouth nip at her ear. "What are you doing - "

"…Finally, I found you..." She heard him murmur, and she froze entirely on the spot just as his lips formed a wolfish, hungry grin, "My _mate_."

"W-What…?"

"I can smell it all over you. …You were born for me. ..Your sole existence, the bane of your life, is for _**me**_."

And Ruby's life just got a little more complicated.

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><p>Before you proceed, take heed! <strong>Here are the general warnings for this fic:<strong>

Mary Sue/Gary Stu/OOC  
>GoreBlood/Guts  
>Strong Language<br>Violence  
>Murder<br>Smut/Lime/Lemon


	2. My Own Horror Movie

Wow! Thank you for all the comments! You guys are awesome :DD I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

_Italics_ - Ruby's thoughts.

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><p><em>My Own Horror Movie<em>

His weight was too much for her to handle; Ruby collapsed to the ground and he fell on top of her. "Hey! S-stop that!" She wailed, when she suddenly felt him probing at her garments; her cheeks inevitably went warm with embarrassment as his invading hands skimmed over her body. Eventually, he found the folded rims of her top and tugged it out from the waistband of her skirt, trying to lift it up over her stomach. "Stop it! You're wrong! You're wrong you're wrong you're wrong! I'm-I'm not your… _mate_!"

He ignored her, but moved his hands to pin her wrists flat against the ground by the sides of her head. She felt his heavy, quick breaths all over her cheek as he bit out, "Are you a virgin?"

Ruby's eyes widened instantly. "…Uwagh - ?" She made a funny noise. What kind of question was that? Her face went bright red from chin up.

A gloved hand then clamped over her throat and forced her to gaze back into his chilling crimson eyes. "Did you not hear me, human?" He snarled at her, yet he was still grinning wickedly, "_Are you a __**virgin**_?"

Terrified, Ruby wasn't sure what answer would suffice. "N-No!" She yelped, on the verge of tears.

Yet a smirk formed on his ridiculously handsome face. "Lie." He grated out, as he buried his nose into the side of her neck, inhaling her scent, "Lies! I can smell your virginity. Your pureness. Your untainted innocence…Such naiveté…How _delightful_…" Before he burst into abrupt, insane laughter. His laughter sounded almost like howling.

"Human," He began again, "What is your religion? How did your parents raise you? Answer me, whelp." He grabbed the front of her nurse's uniform and shook her that her cap fell off her head, "…Never talk to strangers…? Don't accept sweets from people you don't know? Never open the door for anyone when alone in the house? Yes, yes, yes, because you're a good little girl. A good little virgin…"

"AHHHHH! You're insaneeeeee!" Ruby cried even louder and clamped her eyes shut, wishing this awful moment would pass, but then -

"…Ruby?"

Upon hearing her name being called out, she gasped and looked up, just as the strange tall red man leaned down and pressed his long tongue over her nape. Gwen was standing, staring. Then, she blushed.

"G-Gwen! What are you doing here?" Ruby exclaimed.

"Something weird is going on back upstairs! I went to check on you," Gwen squawked, but then her lips curled into a devious smile, "…but I can see you're busy, kekeke…"

Ruby thought she might as well die on the spot now, just as the tall man in red averted his gaze to Gwen and retreated his tongue, now grinning at the new one-person audience. "It-It's not what you think!" Ruby stuttered out; and to her astonishment, the man slowly moved off her and stood back up, then he dragged her up beside him, his hand clasped tightly around her arm.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"

"Gwen, help – "

"_**Ruby**_." began the strange tall man, who still hadn't let go of her yet. She trembled all over when he said her name. "…Where are your manners? Why don't you introduce me to your… _friend_?"

She gawped at him, then at Gwen, before she averted her gaze into car park empty space, at a loss of words.

"Oh, never mind." Gwen giggled at Ruby's numb response, before she hopped over and stuck her hand out to the tall man in red.

"No, Gwen, w-wait!"

But he shook Gwen's hand anyway, in a strangely polite manner, though he still had that ruthless smirk on his face which Ruby wanted to desperately wipe off. "My name's Gwen. I'm Ruby's roommate and co-worker. Nice to meet you…" She left her sentence trailing, waiting for him to finish.

"_Alucard_."

Ruby was surprised he was astoundingly sane when interacting with other people. "Alucard, nice to meet you!" Gwen exclaimed happily, and she shook his gloved hand before letting go to grab Ruby and turning away from him. Ruby wasn't sure she liked having her back to the man, as Gwen whispered, "Really, Ruby? Him? Isn't he a bit too **old** for you? And I didn't know you liked these types of guys…"

Ruby didn't even know what 'type' this guy was. "I don't even know him! He just – he just…" She turned back round, but to her horror…

He was gone.

"Eh? Where did he go? Hmph. Good riddance! What a creep!"

But Gwen was staring intently at her neck. "Whoa… look at the size of that hickey…"

Ruby cringed and quickly pulled the collar of her shirt to cover the mark; she wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not. _He said there were more of those thingies in the hospital…he probably went inside._ _That man is NOT normal. I can't let him near the patients… _She hastily rolled up the sleeves of her shredded cardigan and began to jog back to the staff entrance of the hospital despite missing her nurse's cap from her head and her still-bleeding arm. "I'm getting out of here."

"Hey, wait up." Gwen trailed after Ruby as she swiped her keycard before pushing open the door. "Tell me more about your boyfriend – "

Ruby whipped round immediately before she went up a step and screamed at the top of her lungs "_He's NOT my boyfriend_!" before continuing to storm back up the stairs to reach their designated floor.

"…Okay, okay. No need to yell. Hmm, I see, guess you two are going through a rough patch, huh?" Gwen murmured under her breath, and Ruby chose to ignore her.

Back within the hospital premises, Ruby looked around for any sight of the odd man called Alucard. Where the heck did he go? He must be around here somewhere, maybe on another floor. But something was strange here… something out of place…

"Gwen?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this what you mean by… 'something weird is going on?'" She pointed to a massive blood trail on the floor.

"Um… that wasn't there before." Gwen muttered as she hurried to the reception desk and picked up the phone. There was no dial tone. Shakily, she replaced the handset back. "Let's get the supervisor – " She stopped when she realised Ruby was following the blood trail. "Ruby! Stop! Are you mad?"

_...__Where is everyone? _Ruby pondered nervously as she noticed the lack of staff members around save for herself and Gwen, as well as the flickering lights above them. It wasn't like that before…She realised the blood trail started at the supervisor's office, and peered in, only to find it empty. The TV was still on, the empty screen crackling dimly in the office. A cup of tea was standing on the coaster, still lukewarm. …There was blood all over the foldable chair, hence the source of the blood trail, which now led back out the corridor…

Sensing something amiss, Ruby swiftly left the nurse's office and followed the trail that led her to one of her patient's room. Gwen was suddenly by her side and peering over her shoulder.

"Ruby! Nooo don't open the door! Let's just go downstairs and call the police or something! They'll handle it! I mean…M-Maybe a crazy axe murderer got in – Ruby, what are you doing?"

She had opened the door – god knows why - and the door swung slowly. The two girls gasped as they were greeted with a sight.

Blood. Lots and lots of blood.

On the bed, on the floor, on the curtain, the sink, the window, the door. The patient, who Ruby knew was an old man who had just had a stroke, was nowhere to be seen, until she glanced at the open door leading to the toilet. There was a lone figure hunched inside, seemingly gnawing on something. "…Mr Smith?" She croaked out as she took a step further into the room while Gwen tried to call her back, "…Mr Smith, is-is that you?"

The figure stood hunched by the toilet, then slowly turned round in response to her voice but before the monster could lunge at her, there was a single gunshot.

The zombie-like…_monster _fell as soon as the bullet penetrated his skull, his head reduced to nothing but a pulpy mass of red tendrils and sour flesh. The strange tall man in red who Ruby knew to be called Alucard stood a foot behind Gwen, who was still at the doorway, but was now bent on precariously gawking at Alucard. Meanwhile, Ruby lowered her hands from over her head and slowly stood back up. He lowered his gun; he had shot over Gwen's shoulder, in between the gap of the ajar door, and had narrowly missed Ruby's ear – it was a risky shot, but he managed anyway. Ruby turned round unsteadily, blinking back at him from her distance, and she was going to think how cool he looked…

…until he smirked, his lips pulling back so widely, that she winced slightly. _Those teeth give me such a bad feeling… _She idly pressed her fingertips over the mark on her neck where he had bit her previously and shivered.

"Wooooooow!" Gwen squealed, giggling at Alucard. "You saved us!"

"Move."

"Eh?" Gwen squeaked, before she hurriedly stepped out of his way to let him into the room.

He entered the room, his eyes set on Ruby. She paled, as he stopped directly in front of her, and she blinked up at him blankly. She could not see him properly; he was covered in shadows completely, only two beady red eyes gazed back at her.

He held his hand out.

"_Come_."

Ruby did a double take. Despite their previous encounter, the gesture felt …gentle. But if she remembered correctly, this guy almost molested the living daylights out of her back in the carpark, yet she found herself reaching out and she was going to accept until –

Gwen's bloodcurdling scream pierced through the quiet hospital ward; Alucard didn't bother to turn round and fired a single bullet into the Ghoul in a hospital gown that had clambered into the corridor from its room. But Gwen was nowhere to be seen.

Alucard watched Ruby's horrified expression as the Ghoul crumpled to the floor, blood spurting out of its mouth. "Come with me now."

"O-Okay." She figured she would like to survive this night and whatever the hell was going on, she would find out from him. She slipped her hand into his and he grinned, before he dove for her in seconds and swept her up entirely in his arms, one arm wrapped under the bend of her knees, the other around her back.

"Good little virgin girl." He crooned at her.

She cringed. "Put me down. I said I'll come with you, but you don't have to carry me, _Alucard_, if that even is your REAL NAME."

It seemed he wouldn't back down; she sighed and refused to look at him as he began to leave the room and back into the hospital corridor, shooting at Ghouls emerging from their rooms. He had to let go of one arm to shoot so he propped her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. As embarrassing as it was, she accepted her sheer helplessness at this situation and clamped her hands over her ears, disliking more and more the sound of ricocheting bullets by the second.

When everything fell quiet again, Ruby re-opened her eyes and peeped over, to see the entire hospital floor drenched in blood. She turned to Alucard and tugged on his cravat to get his attention. "…Question: What are those things? What happened to Mr Smith? ...And stop grinning! It's not funny!"

"That was not your patient. That was a Ghoul." He replied; he was still grinning, much to her dismay, "The hospital is besieged. A vampire has snuck here, thirsty and greedy for blood… it seems he has also decided to turn a few of your patients into his undead slaves… _Didn't you know?_ Hospitals are feeding grounds for vampires…"

"Why? Because…because of all the blood kept in storage and the large amount of vulnerable people gathered in one spot?" Ruby said quickly, and he grinned wider in response. She gasped, "This place must be like an all-you-can-eat buffet for vampires."

He decided to humour her. "Precisely."

"Wait! Where's Gwen?" Ruby exclaimed, realising that her roomie was nowhere to be seen.

"She ran. She seems to be the kind to run and find hiding spots to cower; only emerging until all is well. Like a cockroach."

Ruby thought for a moment. _Hm, that pretty much sums up Gwen's personality_. _Hey wait a minute! Why am I agreeing with him?_ "T-Those things…Those 'ghouls'…are people?" She enquired, as he went down one floor, made sure the coast was clear, before storming down the corridor.

"They were." He replied, "Nurse. You should be clear of the hospital layout."

She picked up immediately, "Um…That room just there. It should be safe to stay in there." He went to the door she was pointing to, kicked it open, before he let her down. She found her balance and glanced up at him, "…What will you do?"

"My job." He replied with a sinister leer as his fingers brushed over the gun handle that was sticking out from his pocket, and Ruby paled slightly.

"Please don't, they're…they're still my patients."

He slammed a hand beside her head, caging her between the wall, and himself. He grasped a strand of her hair and brought it to his lips, then smirked up at her, demonic red eyes gleaming. "You misunderstand. What they are now are mere shells. They are pitiful and must be put out of their misery."

"…Isn't there another way?"

"Perhaps you can try and reason with them, see if they will stop, look at you, and listen."

Ruby flushed and hung her head low like a dog that had just been scolded, and he let go, then laughed at her response. It must be a superior complex he had. "What about the other members of staff?" She mumbled out.

"Some have escaped, others have turned to Ghouls." He replied, having stopped laughing for now, "There is still a lot for you to understand. Compassion and other useless human emotions is something that hinders intuition…" When he reached for her once more, she shrunk away although it didn't help because she was already against the wall. He moved against her, forcing her legs apart as he grabbed her – by the neck. Choking somewhat by the hand gripping over her throat, Ruby then felt him press his nose against her nape again. "Ahhh, the fresh meat is so defiant… this is so much fun."

"Get off me." _And stop strangling me, you maniac!_

His hold on her neck loosened and instead, went to pull at her cheek. "Be a good little virgin girl; stay here and wait for me." When he bore his red eyes into hers, she backed away and tried to squish her palm into his face to get him to stop violating her personal space.

"Stop that."

Laughing, Alucard let go of her and vanished into the shadows and Ruby fell over slightly had she not managed to pull herself back up. _How the hell did he do that? _On her lonesome, Ruby wondered what was the best course of action was. Wait for him? As if! Ever since she met him, nothing good has happened! But those creatures called Ghouls had frightened her to no end, and he said there were more of them prowling around. She was safer here, he alleged.

But just then, an imaginary lightbulb flicked in her mind. _What if there's no-one at the maternity ward?_

She ran to the door and grasped the doorknob, jerking it open, before rushing towards the direction of the maternity ward, taking two steps down at a time. Too bad her stupid nurse's uniform prohibited her running capabilities. The dress was too long; cursing, Ruby gripped the rim as she continued to run before ripping away at a portion of her uniform up to her knees.

She arrived at the maternity ward via the staff entrance only to find it with one lone maternity nurse who was squatting down, crying in a corner.

"Snap out of it!" Ruby grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her fiercely.

The nurse shook her head whilst weeping, pointing to the bandet screen. Ruby gasped and stepped back then. Behind the transparent bandet screen encasing the infants from the public, were a horde of Ghouls clawing desperately at the screen, while the babies in the cots cried loudly. Ruby swallowed down, then rushed over to the door - and thankfully – she found it locked. She backed away, just as one of the Ghouls bashed himself against the screen in a bid to get at them, blood spewing everywhere.

"Where is everyone? Just you?"

The nurse merely shook her head, then nodded, crying.

"Don't worry, I'm here. You're not alone. Come on – " Ruby hoisted the nurse up by the arm and quickly led her to the exit. "You go and find help. I'll stay here."

"B-But…"

Ruby pointed to the bawling babies in their cots. She figured this nurse was suffering a mental breakdown and keeping her here wouldn't precisely help.

The nurse nodded and set off back down the staff corridor and out of sight.

_Need to act quick_ – Ruby's eyes darted around and she groaned to see there were at least more than fifteen infants in the ward at the moment. "How am I gonna do this?" She muttered under her breath as she scampered to a trolley and pushed off all the contents. It was big enough to fit four infants. She found a blanket next and lay it over the hard metal surface, and then reached into one of the cots.

Lifting the gurgling, wailing baby out, she tried to make it stop crying. "Shhh, it's okay… you're gonna be safe…" She placed him…her…er, the baby, on the trolley over the blanket with its nametag to avoid confused, distraught mothers in the near future, then moved to retrieve the next baby. And the next, and the next.

"Ah god! Is this…_child abuse_…?" She woefully cried out to no-one - maybe the Ghouls, if they could still understand English and retained some shred of humanity.

She whimpered, as she strapped the babies beside each other with restraining BELTS for mental or distressed patients. It was so they would not fall off when she would wheel them out. Certainly this was some form of child abuse. She left via the staff exit and into the corridor, just as two figures came charging towards her in the darkness and Ruby screamed only to realise that it was Gwen, and the maternity nurse from before.

"Ruby! There you are! Come quick – there's an exit! There's this big group of soldiers with guns outside! They call themselves...uh...Hellsing or sumthink. They've already secured the first floor!"

"That's great!" Ruby felt relief surge and finally managed the first smile of the night. "Hey…Why did you run away earlier on?"

"I…I needed the bathroom."

"…Right."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Never mind, let's get these babies out, quickly." Ruby said, and Gwen nodded.

"But what about you?"

"I have to stay here."

"B-But those groaning thingies outside…" Gwen stammered as she pointed at the Ghouls, and at the precise moment, the door rattled furiously. It seemed the Ghouls were trying to enter through the door now. She screamed. "That won't hold for long!"

"Let's just hur – "

Suddenly, a flurry of gunshots somewhere upstairs made the girls wince.

"And what's going on up there?"

_Must be Alucard…_ Ruby thought. She turned back to Gwen and the other nurse, "Come on, we have to keep moving."

Ruby continued evacuating the infant residents of the maternity ward with the nurse, and Gwen's help, until the bandet screen finally broke and the Ghouls spilled in, reaching for her. Gwen and the other nurse were already wheeling the rest of the babies like crazy further down the corridor towards the supposed exit where this…Hellsing group were; Ruby screamed just as one of the Ghouls lunged at her, only for a bullet to tear through his head. It flopped over her as she lay cowering over the floor. There were more to come - more Ghouls, that is, and Ruby was completely trapped in the middle. They were all coming from every corner in the ward. But soon, a hail of bullets ripped through, hitting each and every Ghoul in the head.

But as more and more dead ghouls piled on top of Ruby, she slowly sunk under. Screaming, she flailed her hand out for help. A hand grabbed hers and with ridiculous strength, lifted her entirely off the floor. Ruby blinked at the blonde girl in a yellow uniform that said 'Hellsing' on one of the pockets.

"Are you alright?" asked the blonde girl. Ruby didn't fail to notice the huge gun in her other hand.

"Y-Yes…thank you." Ruby stammered; as soon as she regained her composition, the blonde girl let go of her hand. The other thing Ruby noticed was the the blonde girl's chest. Plainly speaking, it was humongous, compared to Ruby's anyway. Ruby then glanced down at her own flat pancake chest, and sighed.

"You're welcome. But uh... did you get bitten?"

"...Um, no, I don't think so - "

A new voice entered the fray: "_Victoria_."

Behind the blonde girl, was another woman. She was a tall, olive-skinned woman with ivory locks and glasses perched over her pristine blue eyes. She was in a green suit with a blue ascot and a crucifix replacing a brooch. A fat brown cigar was wedged between her lips; the woman took a heavy drag and exhaled smoke from her mouth silently even though there was a sign on the wall behind her that clearly said 'No Smoking'. She was accompanied with two men in suits. "Good work." She added, and she turned to Ruby.

Ruby froze up all over on the spot, immobilised by the woman's icy gaze.

"We'll take it from here, Nurse…" The woman looked at Ruby's namebadge, which was spattered in blood, but she still managed to see most of her name anyway. "…_Ashcroft_." She finished.

"Oh...o-okay." Ruby stepped over the Ghoul's scattered corpses and stared at the mass of bodies lying by her feet. If one had just come into the room, they would've thought it was Ruby who did all that. She meticulously sniffed herself; the stench of blood and death was unbearable. She was also covered in brains, guts, bits of liver and blood. Lovely.

The tan woman was listening to a walkie-talkie clip on her lapel, listening to jumbled feedback. "The host vampire has been eliminated by Alucard on the 3rd floor. You two make sure you get all men on all floors to look for survivors. Victoria, go with them."

"Yes, Sir Integra."

"May God's blessing guide you on the way. Amen."

"Amen."

As the two men and the blonde girl called 'Victoria' hurried past Ruby and out of the ward with their guns, the woman turned to Ruby and spoke out loud, "Alucard, I found her. Do whatever you like but you are not permitted to bring her back to the mansion."

She watched the woman leave. "H-Hey, wait, where are you going – " She was cut off when two arms enveloped her tightly into a possessive embrace. Alucard. Of course. But he wasn't smirking. Oh no, he looked… _vicious_.

"I thought I told you to stay, girl." He snarled at her, "Don't you know what happens to disobedient little virgins like you who defy my orders?"

She decided she'd had enough of this crazy horror movie. "…I came to check the maternity ward."

He stared at for a few seconds, then grunted under his breath. She thought he was angry, until he lifted his head back up to roar with laughter. "Are all humans as self-righteous as you? How deplorable." And he said all that while laughing…

Ruby felt a shiver run down her spine yet stood her ground. "I'm glad I did."

Alucard's amusement never ceased, "Ahhh… so the human maternal instincts were taking over…" He purred at her, still grinning.

"That's not funny."

"Of course it is. Humans are funny creatures. They're always so unpredictable." He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, their faces pressed so tightly together that they went eye to eye. She stared back at him uncomfortably, gazing deeply into his eyes… She couldn't see her reflection in his pupils... they were just an endless hazy red depth. It felt like he was staring right into soul…

"W-what do you want?" She squeaked out.

And in response, his grin widened considerably and her gut was immediately hit with a pang of discomfort. "What do I want...?" He murmured, as their faces neared, "_You_. Just the smell of you drives me wild. So I must have you. Body _**and **_soul. I have decided - you will be mine from now on. And if you refuse me…I'll kill you."


	3. Something Weird is Going on

_Something Weird is Going on and it's Not Just Alucard_

His words registered in her mind slowly.

_Mate… refuse me… kill…mine…body…soul…HUH? _Her eyebrows furrowed into a tight 'v' and she whipped her head up to him sharply, then drew a deep breath and -

"Okay, that IS **IT**! I've had enough! Just who the hell do you think you are… waltzing in here and stirring up a scene with your big guns and the whole 'vampire' and 'mate' thing? Not only do I get crap from Gwen telling me what to do or trying to copy my notes 24/7 and asking me for answers during tests but I also get patients moaning about how their toilets don't work or how not up to their standards the hospital food is or how there's blood, bile, barf and bowels all over me or all over the floor, and now I have this crap from you to put up with too! I have a limit, and today, you just made me cross that limit! So no, I will not be nice to you anymore! I will not be polite! I will not care if I hurt your feelings! So, er-hem, for your information, _**ALUCARD**_, I don't want to be your mate. I don't even know you, in fact, I don't even want to know you and I'm not the slightest teeny weeny bit interested in you! I certainly don't find you attractive, I think you're scary as hell and a complete and utter pervert and if this is some kind of sick joke I don't find it funny at all and think there's something seriously wrong with your head so please go to the east courtyard to the mental ward to get your sanity checked and – "

"Ruby!"

"WHAT? WHAT IS IT? CAN'T YOU SEE I'M FREAKIN' BUSY HERE? GOD!"

It was Gwen, standing at the door. She was pointing outside, and following the direction of Gwen's finger, Ruby's eyes landed onto one of the many tents that were propped up outside. She looked from Ruby, to Alucard, who had pulled a seat in front of the agitated Ruby and was now sitting down watching her intently, fascinated. "Stop arguing with your boyfriend and get your ass over here right now! We need help!"

Help? Ruby looked around. The hospital was a complete mess. It was then she saw the hundreds of ambulances and black vans outside. Soldiers with guns were storming around. Even a helicopter was circling the perimeter of the hospital. Maybe they were from that Hellsing company or whatever. She noticed that there were hundreds of people being led to the side to sit down and have their injuries tended to. Alucard was merely sitting in front of her with his legs crossed, as if he was enjoying this macabre situation.

Her eye twitched. While she had been yelling at him, people were dying or injured. Transforming into her emergency casualty mode once again, Ruby snatched a first aid kit from the side robotically, turned away from him and hurried over, "I'm coming!" But then she stopped, spun back to Alucard, her eyes narrowing acutely. "_**YOU**_! This isn't over yet! There's more from where that came from! I got plenty more to say to you! I'll be back! So you better stay right there until I finish work!"

"Of course; I would not want my mate to be left alone." He said, with a smirk.

Didn't anything she had just said register in his mind? Ruby felt like strangling him. She really did. Sensing the murderous aura in the air, Gwen rushed over and grabbed Ruby before anything else could happen and dragged her kicking and screaming into a nearby tent. Yes, her friend Ruby, who had always been known to be quiet, soft-spoken and shy, had finally cracked.

Gwen thought it would never happen, and she turned to Alucard who was still sitting down. In response, he smirked at her and Gwen blushed. _Wow, he's so cool. If it doesn't work out between them, I'll go for him! _She thought to herself with a snicker, before she disappeared back into the tent to see that Ruby was now tending to a random patient on one of the stretchers.

"Moment of madness over yet?" She asked.

Ruby nodded, feeling slightly disoriented by her own outburst back there.

Back outside, Alucard was approached by Integra as she emerged from one of the black tents. "And what in god's name do you think you're doing?" She barked, holding her cigar in between two fingers as she took a drag, "There's been a vampire attack in the city. Seras will take over from here. Hurry up and go."

He turned to her, and smirked. "Yes, my master." From his seat, he gradually disappeared into the shadows, whilst watching Ruby's tent, watching her tend to the other patients.

She didn't see him leave.

**3 hours later.**

"Oi, newbies! Get over here!"

Ruby's legs were aching by the time work was over. Her vision felt constrained and blurred; she rubbed at her temples to focus properly just as Gwen grabbed her arm and screamed, "That's us! That's us, we're the newbies! Finally! We can go home!" Gwen dragged Ruby over and they joined the rest of the trainees who had also been doing a graveyard shift, back into the tent.

The supervisor glanced at them one by one as they lined up horizontally. "...Well done, you have all worked extremely hard tonight. I'm sure all of you have questions – but all you need to know is that some crazy madman with a contagious virus broke in here tonight, threw said contagious virus into the air vents, infected the patients and staff and turned them into mindless cannibals."

While everyone went 'Ohhh', Ruby cringed slightly. _Is that what they are telling the public?_

"They've turned the virus in to the GlaxoKlineSmith Medical Health Institute for research and they're developing a cure so there's no need to worry," said the supervisor who was now holding a lit cigarette in hand. "Those who survived, congratulations. Unfortunately, we don't have anywhere for you to stay tonight because they're closing down the hospital so you have to go home, or find somewhere else to crash. Until then, the course is postponed. If you have any family or friends here, you can get a form at the office and sign it so they can go somewhere else for treatment. We will contact you all once everything returns to normal. You can make a phonecall to your family and friends, let them know you're alright. Maybe ask them to pick you up or something. Well, I'm going home. See you guys whenever."

And the supervisor dawdled out of the tent and away, leaving the rest of the trainees to organise themselves. Gwen giggled and scooped out her two phones – one was a Blackberry, the other was an iPhone - and began texting with one, and calling somebody using the other. Ruby meekly lifted out her brick-like, 5 year old phone, checked her phone credit, then settled it back into her pocket.

"…Ruby, what's wrong?" Gwen said, realising her friend seemed hesitant. "Aren't you gonna call your parents?"

"No. I don't want them to be worried. And it's too late anyway. They won't pick up at this time."

"Well…Do you need a place to stay? You can stay with me and my friends if you want."

Despite the rather generous offer, Ruby really wanted to be alone. "No, that's okay. I… I got a place to stay, but thanks, Gwen." She left the tent, and looked around. The seat Alucard had been sitting in was missing - he was gone. He didn't wait. Surprisingly enough, she felt a little abandoned.

**The next morning.**

Ruby didn't have the nightmare that night and was enjoying a long lie-in the next morning until she woke up due to a throbbing cramp in both arms and legs. "Ohhhh, so tiredddddd…" She moaned out loud. Her arms hurt. "Ow." _Throb._ "Ow." _Throb._ "OWW…"

She whimpered and tried to go back to sleep, tried to ignore the cramps until she felt a hand stroking her thigh. Her eyes snapped open, then swerved them up to see the tall man in red staring at her from above. _Alucard. _His usual hat and sunglasses were missing. She screamed as he grinned at her, and she scrambled away, only to slam her head into the wall. Seeing stars, she slowly drifted back under the covers, curling into a foetal position and cradling her aching forehead.

The hand on her leg lifted off her as Alucard turned away from her to glance around her small hotel room. "…Quite amusing," He began, "The way how you sleep. Like a small dog."

Horrified, Ruby blinked up at him, then glanced down at herself. Her night shirt had ridden up over her stomach and one of her legs dangled off the edge of the bed. She gasped and quickly tried to reach for the nearest object available to throw at him – until he abruptly pinned her down on the mattress. She squeaked out, "What do you want now?"

"I believe I haven't introduced myself properly."

"You don't have to, _Alucard_."

She was remotely surprised when he let go; she rubbed at her head again before moving upwards to sit on the bed, swinging her legs back onto the mattress. Her hair was a wild, untamed mess…sticking up in all sorts of direction…and she was still so sleepy, too… Her vision was slightly fuzzy… With nowhere else to go, Ruby had to book a hotel room in the city until she found out what to do next. Ruby didn't hear from Gwen again after last night's fiasco.

"What are you doing here?" She croaked out. _How did he even find me? NO, scratch that. How did he even get in this room?_

"You keep forgetting, or do you just love to be reminded?" He sneered down at her as she scratched at her head, "Mate?"

That jolted her awake for a second. "I'm not your mate! Why do you keep insisting that? Leave me alone!"

He laughed – again, it was that sinister, slasher laugh, and she shuddered all over, "I have waited centuries for you… You honestly think I'll leave you alone? No… in fact, I can barely keep my hands off you…"

"Keep your comments to yourself," She snapped at him, as she whipped off the covers, rolled off the bed and began to stalk towards the chair where she rifled through her possessions which she retrieved from her locker back at the hospital the previous night, such as her rucksack, jeans, a clean top and hoodie, and her jacket. "…What are you anyway?"

He didn't follow her into the bathroom, to her relief. She moved to the sink and opened the tap to splash some hot water over her face. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she realised just how dishevelled and bedraggled she looked. Her face was enough to make babies cry. Grumbling, she reached for the supplementary pack of hotel toiletries, plucked out the toothbrush and glass they provided and filled it up with hot water before making a grab for the toothpaste.

She heard him say, "That depends."

Ruby rammed the toothbrush into her mouth and began brushing. "Onph phwhat?" She asked, as she continued brushing.

"Why don't you guess what I am?"

She was surprised he had heard what she had said. "Yoofa famphire fwoo?"

"Yes. They do exist. You were attacked by one yesterday."

She bent her head down to rinse, then mumbled under her breath, "…Does that mean unicorns and fairies and elves are real, too?" She wistfully hoped unicorns did. She liked unicorns…

When she lifted her head back up, she realised he was suddenly standing beside her on her left from out of nowhere and she gasped and choked, then coughed, spluttering the contents of her mouth down the sink, but then she accidentally swallowed some and paled. She turned to him, furious, and wiped at her mouth with the sleeve of her nightshirt. "Ack! You made me swallow the toothpaste! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

But when he grabbed her mouth and using his lithe fingers, drew her lips back, she gave him an incredulous look.

"Er…What are you doing?" It was hard trying to talk when someone was pulling at your lips. She clenched the toothbrush so tightly in her grip it almost snapped in half.

"…I wonder what you will look like with fangs."

Too bad the mirror was too small for the both of them; she wanted to see if she could see his reflection or not if he really was a vampire. "What do you mean?" He finally let go of her face.

"Does eternal life appeal to you?"

Her eyes widened as soon as it registered in her mind, "NO!" She screamed at him. "I don't want to become a vampire!"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

Ruby tried to pull herself free from him, yet he slammed his hands on both her sides, his palms flat on the sink edge, caging her between himself, and the sink itself effectively, "…I-I don't get it…If you're a vampire, how can you even be here? It's broad daylight. And how did you even find me? How the heck did you even get in this room?"

"You think so little of me, human." He mused, "I suppose it cannot be helped. Your mindset… It is too… traditional. Narrow-minded."

He didn't really answer any of her questions. She cracked a wry smile at him as she continued to pull and tug little by little out of his grip. "Yeah, about that… I have a name. It's not 'mate' or 'fresh meat' or 'nurse' or 'human'."

"_Human_." He insisted, as they both stared each other down. "Or would you rather I call you '_bride_'?"

She blinked. A woman in a white wedding dress and veil carrying a bouquet of flowers popped in her mind then. "...Bride?"

"Yes, that is what they are called… Their blood is like no other… and they have a scent… a special scent that appeals to one…" He said, while chuckling softly under his breath. "And I've finally found mine. It cannot be helped. These things just happen."

"Yeah. It just had to happen to me." Pause. "Sorry, was I thinking out loud again?"

But his grin merely went slant into a twisted angle on his face. "Oh. You think you're funny." He purred, as he tilted her chin up before his long, slick tongue licked at her cheek. "Don't be too upset…I'll have you by my side for the rest of eternity…" He purred in her ear, while she swallowed down the huge lump in her throat. "There doesn't have to be any love."

"…Huh?"

"I will not be gentle to you. I will not be kind. I don't care who you are. I don't care about your past. Or your family. Your friends. What you like. What you dislike. Your dreams. Your aspirations. Your ambitions. All of those are insignificant to me."

"And why are you so sure it's me?"

Alucard's grin never vanished. Instead, it grew and grew and grew, until the corners of his mouth touched his ears, "…A vampire's intuition."

She watched him warily for a long time, then – "Just how old are you?"

"Ah, that is something not many has questioned me." He replied, "All you should know is that… I am neither old nor am I young."

"But…how long have you been alive? You said centuries… more than one hundred years? More? Back in the Victorian era? Or… even further? Like… back in the middle ages? Or even more way back?"

"…Do not test my patience, girl."

She took a few flying guesses, knowing that he could rear his ugly side and kill her at any moment. "…Were you royalty? Were you spoilt and brutal? Did you rape and pillage as you saw fit? Did you leech off the poor and punish the defiant?"

There was a silence and then -

"What? It's true? I was just kidding!"

"There are some things I have done, which I am not proud of."

"…Huh?" She squeaked out, "...N-Never mind." She figured she'd rather not know. Even if he raped and pillaged she didn't care because she didn't want anything to do with him.

There was another silence following.

Eventually, Ruby sighed. A part of her felt bad for having to say this to him again. "Alucard, there's probably been some kind of mistake. I'm sure you've got the wrong person. I'm sorry. But...I can't be your mate, so...um, if you don't mind I'd like to get changed so could you please – " She was cut short when he suddenly seized her and crashed his lips over hers. But it was over as soon as it started. "W-Wha…?"

"No - " He paused to press his nose against her neck and she tensed up all over, "I'm certain it's you. No-one's scent has thrilled me so much."

"W-Why did you – "

"I've saved your life numerous times now." He said as he pulled away from her, "It's only reasonable I get something in return for my efforts." Was this his way of changing the subject? And he only saved her life twice which wasn't exactly 'numerous'!

"...What." She grunted out through gritted teeth.

"Kiss me." He murmured, as he grasped her chin gently and tilted her face up to him. "Just a kiss. That's all I want."

Her eye twitched furiously at the mere thought. "Will you go away and leave me to change then?"

"Yes."

"…How do I know you're not lying?"

"My dear girl, what kind of 'man' do you think I am?" He replied, with a deep chuckle.

"O-Okay, fine." She stammered out, as she pulled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, the blush on her cheeks never fading. "…But close your eyes."

"And why should I?"

"Just do it."

His expression clouded suddenly, and he seized her by the front of her nightshirt before pulling her up to him, their noses touching. "Choose your words wisely, human." He snarled, his tone dripping venomously low. "Lest you forget… I own you. I can turn you into a creature of the night whenever I want. You will not use that tone with me nor will you tell me what to do, or I'll rip that sharp tongue of yours out of your mouth. Or even better… I'll put that tongue to better use."

She stared._ Sheesh, what is up with him and all of his sexual innuendos?_ And she shivered all over, as she blinked at him in stunned silence, and he let go shortly. She glanced down at herself before realising he had torn off the collar of her shirt. What surprised him was that she didn't respond as he thought she would have to _his _threat. She seemed more…startled, than scared. She wasn't cowering or whimpering as he had expected her to be.

She was just… silent.

When he was sure she knew her rightful place, he closed his eyes, waiting. Her shoulders fell slack and her eyes widened in response. Dread began to build up inside her like crazy. She didn't want to… she _really_ didn't want to do this…

He smirked inwardly, hearing her heartbeat quicken. She was panicking; she placed her two sweating hands on each side of his pale, thin face, silently hating herself for doing this, before she pulled him down to her level because he was so infuriatingly tall compared to her. Panting heavily, Ruby swallowed down, trying to regain control of her nerves, and she meekly stepped forward towards him although the small bathroom already made them stand quite close together. Just before she neared his lips, she licked her dry lips without thinking. Her mouth parted, then she closed her eyes and closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against his.

She felt a slight electric jolt from their contact. It wasn't like last time. To her surprise, their lips meshed together in a perfect fit. And she had expected him to take advantage… or do something that would make her loathe him more than she could possibly now...

But he didn't.

When she pulled back, her heart was thundering against her ribs; she was astonished to see that Alucard wasn't smirking at his own victory as she thought he would be. He wasn't frowning, either. No, he was simply…gazing at her, almost longingly. She let go of his face and turned away from him abruptly to shield her embarrassment. "T-There. Now can I get changed?"

"…As my bride wishes."

When there was a long silence, she swerved her eyes to where Alucard should have been standing.

He was gone.


	4. Dirty Sexy Money

Thank you so much for the reviews! I hope you all like this chapter :)

* * *

><p><em>Dirty Money<em>

Ruby changed into her spare clothes and got ready to check-out. Her tattered nurse's uniform was thrown into the bin because she didn't think she'd be able to wash out the blood; the smell was too much, and she figured they could provide her with a new one. When she was finished brushing her hair, she stuffed her brush back into her bag and looked outside the window; she realised it was raining, and she had no umbrella.

Depressed, Ruby stuffed her arms into the sleeves of her not-so waterproof jacket, then put on her rucksack, pulled the hood over her head and then promptly left her hotel room. News of the infirmary incident last night spread over the media like wildfire. It would be closed down and Ruby's nursing degree would have to be continued elsewhere. And where that 'elsewhere' was, she wasn't so sure. It was declared 'to be announced'. For now, Ruby figured she'd stay at home for the time being.

She waddled down to the hall and pressed at the elevator button, stepped inside when it arrived and waited, listening to dingy elevator music until it finally arrived back downstairs at the lobby. She stepped out and just then -

"Good afternoon, Miss Ashcroft."

She looked up.

It was an old man. He was dressed in a butler's outfit… he was tall, with dark long hair tied back and a single monocle sat perched over his left eye. He was also rather pale; Ruby wondered if he may have an ailment. Still, his lean physique and upright, perfect posture indicated he was very fit for his old age.

He smiled back at her, "…Sir Integra wishes to see you, Miss Ashcroft." He said, as he bowed politely.

"…How did you know my name?"

The old man smiled yet another crooked, withered alligator smile. "We, of the Hellsing Organisation, know everything."

"…And… who is…Int…Intel Core…"

"Sir Integra Fairbrooks Wingate Hellsing." The old man corrected her; he sounded extremely proud when he spoke the name.

"Sir Integra Facebook - "

Walter interrupted her immediately, "You met her last night. She is the leader of the Hellsing Organisation."

"I did? Oh, right. Is…is this about what happened last night at the hospital?"

"Yes." He bowed gracefully once more, "Sir Integra is also the one in control over the vampire, Alucard."

Alucard.

When he said that name, Ruby thought she'd pop a gasket. But instead, she gave the old man a calm and collected smile, and nodded. "I…I see."

"We're quite aware he has made himself quite the acquaintance with you. Now, if you don't mind, Miss Ashcroft… Please come with me. We have a car waiting for you outside."

…..

Ruby was blindfolded when the car started.

Whatever this…this… Hellsing Organisation was, it certainly was something as top secret as the MI5. After what felt like the bumpy car ride of an eternity, the brakes finally screeched to a halt, and the door opened. She was made to leave the car and walk, and the old-butler-man, who had introduced himself as Walter C. Dornez, helped her the entire way. Finally, she heard large doors opening, and the blindfold was removed and Ruby stared around.

She had been led to a large room, resembling a dining room with a long, rich mahogany table in the centre and four chairs evenly spaced out. The room was elaborate; the walls were furnished with wine red wallpaper and gold trimming, luscious Persian rugs with matching royal red curtains outlining each window. The furniture were even more stunning - ornately sculpted statues stood stiffly on both left and room sides of the room and pieces of assembled, life-sized armour standing proudly on little mantles, holding assorted weapons from swords to spears. Ruby gulped; were they even real?

Walter pulled out one of the chairs at the table and gestured for Ruby to sit, "Please, have a seat. Sir Integra will be here shortly."

"O-Okay. Thank you, Walter."

"Would you like some tea while you wait?"

"Um, no thank you."

Walter smiled back at her and politely excused himself. Ruby was left alone in the dining-guest room, sitting on the chair, staring around. The urge to look around and touch everything was overwhelming.

Eventually, she gave in to her primeval, wanton desires to touch something rich and rare and stood back up, making her way towards one of the assembled armour pieces. She glanced at the spear it was holding and wondering what was holding the armour up in the first place. She leaned over and tapped at the shoulder plate of the armour piece inquisitively. It gave a hollow 'thunk'.

"My master won't like it if you get your fingerprints over her prized collection."

At the sound of the voice, Ruby leapt up, startled, and wobbled backwards. Her heel caught a crease in the rug and she went stumbling backwards just as a tall, familiar figure loomed over her, his grin never ceasing as he watched her land on the ground none too gently.

CRACK.

Ruby let out a pained yelp when she realised she'd accidentally used her hand to cushion her fall, yet she'd managed to fall on top of it at an awkward angle. Tears welled up in her eyes immediately and she slowly sat back up, slightly surprised that Alucard hadn't even attempted to help her up but was instead, watching her.

"…Oh dear, you've hurt yourself." He sounded amused, as he stepped over her, the tail of his red coat fluttering over her with each step he took.

_Yes, thank you Alucard for pointing out the obvious. _She glowered up at him bitterly as she held her aching wrist. It seemed to be sprained, or in the worst case scenario, broken. She inhaled a hiss of pain and felt tears threatening to fall. She was crying, or about to. That was the last thing she'd wanted to happen.

Alucard lowered himself to kneel down beside her to her left. Where had he even come from? She didn't even hear him! And didn't she already warn him not to sneak up on her like that. "What are you doing here?" She mumbled, inching away from him as he slinked forwards to her. The throbbing pain in her wrist didn't subside; she wanted to hold back the tears but this time to no avail.

He smirked back at her, "This is my home. How nice of you to visit."

"… actually, Sir Intel Core asked me to come."

Alucard raised an eyebrow, and then realised she must be talking about Integra. Nevertheless, he grinned back at her. "And you accepted? Journeying to the lair of the beast…that's very brave of you. Who will guarantee your well-being?"

"I can look after myself, thank you very much." She said, quickly dabbing away at a tear that had dribbled out from the corner of her eye, hoping he hadn't seen.

He saw. "Let me see your hand."

When she stared at him like a deer caught in headlights, he chuckled. "You don't have to be afraid," He reached over and whispered in her ear, "_I won't bite_."

She immediately pulled back away from him, "No way. I know how to handle it; I'm a trained nurse, remember?"

He gave her a testing look, one slender eyebrow raised. Immediately she began sweating buckets under his intense scrutiny. "Yes," Alucard said as he glanced to the side for a short while, "…you look after people who are injured, but who's there to look after you when you are hurt?"

Ruby's bottom lip wobbled as she contemplated his words. All of a sudden, she felt very pitiful and needy. Before she could reply, his gloved hand landed on her cheeks and she realised he was wiping at her tears. Why was he being so…affectionate? Not long ago did he demand her to kiss him like some angry kid who didn't get his candy. She shrunk under him as he leaned closer.

Alucard sensed her hesitation. "Let me see." His voice was so soft and gentle, yet suave and husky at the same time… In response, Ruby blinked blankly into empty space, seemingly enjoying the sound, and he reached for her hand.

Returning back to reality, Ruby did a double take and narrowed her eyes at him, "Wait! What are you going to do?" She barked, watching his hand close around her wrist.

"Where does it hurt?"

She remained silent.

"_Ruby_."

She blinked; he had used her name for a change. Embarrassed, she squeezed her eyes shut and stubbornly turned her head away.

"Tell me where it hurts, Ruby."

She opened one eye, then meekly gestured to her wrist joint with her other hand.

"Here?"

Ruby nodded.

He looked back up at her and then lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her wrist. And another. And another. Her face went a funny colour in response. "There. Is that better?" He said, after one final kiss. Her heartbeat escalated to a rate she thought she was impossible.

Worse still, she was blushing profusely even though she swore to herself something like this would never make her heart flutter. This kind of stuff only happened in movies. A man had never kissed her hand before. For Alucard, the sight of her flustered by his actions rather amused him. She squeezed her eyes shut and then shook her head fiercely, "NO. What I need is a bandage and-and maybe – " He interrupted her by capturing her into his arms and she tried to wriggle out from his grasp. "Hey! Lemme go! What are you doing?"

For a vampire, he was rather warm. Or maybe it was his large overcoat that was generating heat. It carried a faint smell of gunpowder and… blood. She squirmed although this only caused him to increase his grip on her tenfold. "Ahhh, I couldn't resist. Seeing you so helpless… you're like a little kitten."

She flushed and peered up at his handsome face. Yes, she had to admit he was devilishly handsome. It made her uncomfortable but also made her heart pound. A face like that would cause trouble. A face like that must've also attracted the attention of hundreds of other females. Who was to say that his 'affection' towards her was only concentrated for her solely? Perhaps, and most likely, he had plenty of other females before her.

Ruby blinked, wondering why she was even thinking about this. She had no interest in him! Yet here she was sounding like a jealous brood, knowing that he may or may not have had other women before her. Her nose wrinkled in distaste at herself; she knew the attractive and somewhat gentlemanly façade, concealed a bloodthirsty monster. No matter how gentle he was; she felt she already knew what he was and had been, capable of – death and destruction. He certainly seemed amused by it. She gave him a sour look. "What are you up to? I thought you said you weren't interested in anything about me."

"That doesn't mean I won't care about you."

"Pft. You only want my blood." She snorted back at him. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to me or else you'll risk losing the whole goodie package for another century or so, am I right?"

He suddenly grabbed her by the chin and forced her face up to look at him, their noses almost touching. "Didn't I say not too let yourself get too carried with your own words, girl?" He hissed, but then his gaze on her softened when she swallowed down. Alucard was steadily watching her parted lips; the desire to kiss her haunted him. "…You dislike my advances, although most women have always yearned and revelled in my affections." He murmured as he brushed away a strand of hair from her face, "That, I do not understand."

A pang of discomfort hit her in the stomach. So, her assumptions about him had been true?

Still holding her close to him, he said, "I suppose I haven't even considered if another male has a claim on you. With a face like yours, I don't think you would ever be without a significant other."

… was he complimenting her? She wasn't sure if she had heard properly. "…I – "

"Er-hem."

Alucard didn't seem surprised by the interruption but Ruby gasped and turned to face the figure at the doorway. The same olive-skinned woman from the hospital was standing there.

"Are you quite done intimidating my guest?" She said. To Ruby's surprise, Alucard let go of her and she was left blinking numbly as she sat dazed on the floor. She blinked at her as the woman's eyes narrowed at the sight of her wrist. "And what happened?"

"Um… I fell." Ruby croaked out.

The woman who Ruby believed was Intel Core – sorry, Integra – sighed, and motioned for Walter, who had been standing beside Integra. "Walter, help her."

"Yes, Sir Integra." Walter strode over and picked Ruby up from the ground. She was made to sit back on one of the chairs while Walter went to fetch a first aid kit. Integra gave Alucard a look and shook her head; he merely smirked back at her. As soon as Walter was finished patching her up, Integra motioned for her to follow.

"This way please, Miss Ashcroft. We have much to discuss."

"Yes, ma'am." Ruby blurted out, without thinking twice. Integra's mere presence commanded respect. She trailed after the woman and the butler. To her dismay, Alucard was coming as well. He kept staring at her from the corner of his eyes. Unable to bear his steely gaze no longer, she turned to him with a clinching fist. "…What? What is it now? Why are you looking at me like that? Get whatever dirty thoughts you have out of your head."

He snickered at her softly and said, "Do you like it here?"

Ruby was completely taken by surprise by his question. She hadn't expected it all. "…Huh?" She stopped frowning at him and slowly averted her gaze to her front, dumbstruck by the sudden and unexpected question.

Then, she inspected her surroundings more closely. Since she had met Integra, would she meet that busty blonde girl too? She wanted to thank her properly. "…W-Well… it's nice, but…It's not very… homely." She replied, as she took note of the extravagant portraits on the wall and the elegant tapestry of lions and shields and dragons outlining the mansion walls. This place was like an extension of Buckingham Palace! But there was something…empty about this place.

"…'Homely'." She heard him utter under his breath, before a deep chuckle erupted from the back of his throat. He added, "What an interesting vocabulary you have, my bride."

"_Shh!_ Don't call me that in public!" She hissed back at him, before silently gesturing to Walter, who was the closest near them.

"Walter is an old friend of mine."

"I don't care! It's embarrassing!"

Hearing the bickering pair behind him, Walter mustered a smile and glanced to Integra who merely rolled her eyes.

Ruby gave Alucard one final, wary look but said nothing else. Finally, Integra opened a random door in the corridor and entered. Ruby stepped in, as Walter held the door. Alucard merely drifted through the wall, coming to a stop to stand beside Ruby, who glared at him, then cautiously stepped away. So that was how he entered her hotel room and snuck up on her back at the guest-dining room, she realised. Being a vampire meant you could walk through walls… The list of other vampire possibilities seemed endless in her view.

Alucard smirked back at her and she threw him a venomous look in response.

"Miss Ashcroft." Integra began as she sat behind the table, noticing their interaction already, "An explanation was obligated to you last night but unfortunately, our organisation had our hands full... But what you witnessed last night was no feat. Civilians usually do not get dragged into these affairs, nor do they go through such ordeals pertaining violent supernatural phenomena and live to tell the tale."

Ruby listened on intently.

"The Hellsing Organisation is a group that has existed in secrecy from the public. Unfortunately that is no longer the case for you as Alucard has disclosed more to you than intended." Integra said, shooting him a warning glare. He rewarded her with a playful, tantalising smirk. "…I'm certain he must have exposed the existence of vampires to you, Miss Ashcroft."

"Yes Sir Integra, um... about that…"

"I'm also quite aware Alucard has taken quite the 'interest' in you." Integra said, "Unfortunately, although Alucard is my servant, there are some of his endeavours that are not under my jurisdiction."

Eh? Not under her jurisdiction? Ruby felt slightly disappointed.

"However, that does not mean I am entirely powerless." Integra added, "Let's start with the basics…"

"Basics?"

"Vampires have always existed. They have been in legends, urban stories, myths and cultures, and they have many names. They have always lived alongside human beings for as long as time itself. But since they are creatures of the night, everything they do remain hidden in the shadows. To protect humans from the threat of vampires and all that is evil, that is why Hellsing is here."

"Well said, my Master."

"Be quiet, you." Integra snapped at Alucard immediately without batting an eyelid, "You're already in enough trouble as it is."

He chuckled mischievously at her yet she kept a straight face. Ruby figured Alucard was playful and taunting to almost everyone and not just her. At least it was nothing personal.

Integra exhaled some smoke from her cigar, "Miss Ashcroft, you must understand the last thing we need is for someone to go to the nearest broadcasting network company and tell them about our line of work for a few thousand pounds. Therefore, for your co-operation and silence, here is what we will compensate to you."

Slowly, Ruby raised her hand as if she was a student in class wanting to answer a question the teacher had asked, "Can I ask a question first?"

Integra barely budged from her seat. "No."

"O-Okay…"

Her hand went back down. Alucard could barely contain his amusement when he watched Ruby throw her gaze to the floor dejectedly.

Integra snapped her fingers and Walter stepped over, suddenly holding a medium-sized, chestnut brown suitcase in his arms, which he placed on the table. Integra opened it and Ruby gasped. Inside, were tightly packed, wads of currency notes. Waiting patiently beside her, Alucard thought he saw Ruby's eyes light up.

"Well?" Integra began, her eyebrow raised, "Take it. It's yours."

She felt dizzy, her legs feeling weak. "What? Why?"

"The money... It's rightfully yours. You are entitled to it on our behalf."

"And… it's compensation?" She didn't like the sound of it. "...How much is in there…?"

"Twenty million Great British pounds." Integra replied, without hesitating once, and Ruby let out a feeble squeak.

"_Twe…twenty million_?"

"Don't worry. Twenty million pounds is worth nothing to us." Integra said. "It is no loss. And if you are smart, Miss Ashcroft, you know what to do. Take the money, and you bear no affiliation with us. You will not force our hand, should you foolishly intend to reveal our existence and purpose. You will not be harmed. You will not be persecuted by our associates. Your life will return to normal. Of course… I will do my best to restrain Alucard from…_pestering_ you. I guarantee."

At that point, Alucard ground his teeth together in a feral snarl. Integra merely shot him an all-knowingly smirk of triumph at him.

"…Don't worry. Alucard won't lay a finger on you ever again, as long as you take the money. It's all yours, Miss Ashcroft."

Ruby was staring hungrily at the money before she slowly reached out a hand to touch. She had never seen so much money before. The thought of the spoils and everything it could buy dizzied her. She could go on endless shopping sprees… buy new shoes… new make-up…hell she could even get plastic surgery… But wait! Could she really be bought like that? Was she really worth 20 million? Was she worth less? Or more? What if she accepted the money? Well, she'd be 20 million pounds richer, and she'd have a free conscience and her safety was guaranteed. But she'd also end up looking greedy and materialistic in Integra and Walter's eyes. But what if she didn't accept? Alucard would never leave her alone. The Hellsing Organisation… this…MI5-like corporation… will always be onto her in case she exposed their existence.

Or worse, they'll have her killed.

Ruby turned to Walter and Integra, who were gazing at her expectantly, then, For some odd reason she herself did not understand, she turned to Alucard. His expression was undecipherable. She wasn't sure what or whatever reason had compelled her to see his reaction.

She glanced back at the money once more.

_What do I do? Do I take the money, or not?_


	5. Vampires for Dummies

_Vampires for Dummies_

"No."

"What was that?"

"No. I won't take the money."

Integra smirked. "Are you sure? You won't even take fifteen, ten million?"

Ruby's heart was hammering furiously as she ogled the briefcase. "N-No, not even a penny." She was tempted, but quickly shook her head to rid of such impure thoughts. "I'm…I'm not that kind of person. I won't take the money, and I won't tell anyone about vampires or Hellsing; you have my word." A long silence befell the room following her statement. Had she done the right thing? And why was everyone staring at her like that?

"…Very well." Integra took off her glasses and wiped the lens with a small cloth from her pocket, "I respect your decision, and you seem like a sensible young woman."

Ruby's jaw dropped slightly. _I just refused 20 million. I may be sensible but I'm not NORMAL!_

"You may show Miss Ashcroft the exit, Walter."

"Yes, Sir Integra," The butler complied, before he gestured for Ruby. Once he opened the door, a figure bumbled in and tripped over the rug, much like how Ruby did before. Walter stared down at the girl, as she fell over on her front with a 'kyaaa' and then meekly looked up with a tiny, awkward grin.

While Ruby was taken by surprise, everyone else looked…well, as if they had expected something like this would happen.

"S-Sorry!" The girl in the mustard yellow-striped uniform and stockings gathered herself back up and Ruby realised it was the big-chested girl (unfortunately that was the only thing she could remember her by) from the hospital who had saved her. "I-I-I wasn't listening! Um…carry on."

Without another word she quickly made a move to leave until Integra stopped her. "Just a minute, Seras." She said, "Why don't you show Miss Ashcroft to the exit? Walter, get the car prepared."

While the butler nodded, the blonde girl stood back up straight with a stern expression on her face and saluted. "…Yes, Sir Integra." She marched back out the doorway promptly.

Ruby followed the two out; Walter headed off to the left while the blonde girl motioned for Ruby to follow her down the right. Integra gave her an acknowledging nod as she passed. "One final piece of advice, Miss Ashcroft." She began, "It is entirely up to you to whether you believe all vampires are malevolent. But whatever you do, you mustn't start thinking that all the people around you could be vampires. Thinking like that is a one-way ticket to the mental asylum."

Ruby's shoulders fell slant, "…O-Okay, thank you…" She felt somewhat proud of herself for refusing the money but she had just refused opportunities for endless shopping trips and a potential cruise trip to the Maldives. The loss of such privileges felt emotionally devastating, but nevertheless, she tried to think of the positives. So far, there didn't seem to be any anymore. She left the room with Seras, but was so absorbed in her loss that she didn't notice Alucard sidling near her, their shoulders almost touching.

"You didn't take the money." He reminded her, and she groaned out loud in frustration.

"I didn't feel like it was mine to take." She replied, "…And before you get any ideas in your head; it wasn't because of you. This doesn't mean I like you or anything; this doesn't change anything between us."

"You can keep telling yourself that, my bride," He said, leering at her with a wolfish grin. Before she could reply to that, he chuckled mirthlessly and drifted backwards, disappearing into the shadows.

Watching him do so for the first time in broad daylight unnerved her to no end. "H-Hey! Where are you going?" Ruby called after him, but he was already gone. He just left her…like that? Was this it? Goodbye? …Maybe it was better this way. She blinked blankly, feeling strangely abandoned and lonely once again. It was the same feeling she had back at the hospital when she realised he hadn't waited for her.

There was an awkward laugh beside her, "…My master does that a lot." It was the blonde girl apparently named Seras, and Victoria, "You get used to it."

"Well it's really starting to TICK ME OFF!" She roared, and then - "Oh! And you're the one who saved me back at the hospital! Thank you so much."

The girl seemed taken aback by Ruby's sudden outburst and then the dramatic change in character, "You're welcome." Pause. "My name is Seras Victoria."

Ruby pieced two and two together. So_ Victoria_ was her surname, and _Seras_ was her first name. It was typical of Integra to call people by their surnames, Ruby thought. She stuck her hand out and Seras accepted with a smile. They shook hands but Ruby's not-broken hand felt like it was being clamped in a vice. _Whoa_, Ruby thought as Seras' strength startled her, _This girl's packing some serious muscle in those skinny arms and legs! _"...N-Nice to meet you."

"I'm…" Seras left her sentence trailing and glanced to the side. "…a vampire –cough-."

"O-oh, really?" Ruby began, followed by an awkward silence. She wasn't quite sure what to say next. Dropping the Vampire Bomb or V-Bomb onto her in the conversation were automatic conversation dead-enders. The fact that Seras was a vampire also made Ruby somewhat uneasy. "…But you're so…so young."

"It was my choice. And Master's a good teacher. He really is a nice person…So, let's work hard together and eliminate all the evil vampires."

Ruby felt like an idiot for asking this and was sure Seras would think of her as an idiot but she asked anyway. "Are all vampires evil?" She thought she might as well go look up a 'Vampires for Dummies' book.

"Not all vampires are evil. I don't think Master is evil."

"…Can I ask how you became a vampire, Seras?" She hoped the question didn't make her sound nosy. It probably did. Oh whatever. To hell with it all.

"It was just a few months ago."

Seras was a newly turned vampire? As Seras recounted her tale of the Cheddar Priest, the Ghouls and Alucard appearing from nowhere, letting himself get shot before rejuvenating before her very eyes and asking her if she was a virgin or not, Ruby felt a twang of jealousy for some odd reason. It also sounded like the exact same way of how Alucard found Ruby, except she didn't accept the option of being shot and found a way out. If Alucard had shot her, maybe he would've turned her into a vampire, too.

"About Alucard," Ruby began, "Who exactly is he?" She realised he hadn't told her much about himself at all. Maybe Seras would know more.

Seras thought for a short while, "Master works for Hellsing; he's been working there for a long time. I'm not sure how he came to work for them, though. I was never told, and I don't think they'll tell me. Not yet anyway, since I'm still new." She replied, "Master is teaching me how to become stronger."

Nope, it seems Seras didn't know a lot either.

As soon as they arrived back downstairs, Walter greeted them and Seras bid farewell to Ruby since she couldn't go into the sunlight. It was nice to have made a friend but Ruby wasn't sure if she'd ever see Seras again. As saddening as it sounded, she let Walter tie the blindfold over her eyes and led her outside. It was a long walk to the car from the front courtyard; Walter opened the door to the car for her and helped her inside. Just before he shut the door, he realised Alucard was comfortably sitting inside, now grinning at them both.

"A – " Walter began, but Alucard put a finger to his lips and his grin widened to a considerable extent.

The butler sighed under his breath and shook his head. He let go of Ruby's arm and shut the door for her; the chauffeur rolled down the automatic window and Walter stuck his head in. "You can tell the chauffeur where to drop you off, Miss Ashcroft."

"Oh, like a taxi?" She said, turning her blindfolded self to the direction of Walter's voice. She seemed completely oblivious that Alucard was sitting right beside her and was now watching them silently.

"Yes, Miss Ashcroft. Have a safe journey."

"Thanks, Walter." She turned away and blindly faced to where the chauffeur should be only to be addressing the empty passenger seat beside the chauffeur. "Um, can you take me to 39 Beckfield Estate please?"

The chauffeur took note of the extra passenger in the back seat beside Ruby but said nothing, "Alright then, Beckfield Estate it is." He hastily rolled up the screen that separated the passengers and the driver.

"Thanks." She said, and she heard the window rolling back up. Once the car started, she sat wordlessly. She felt a presence watching her and shifted uncomfortably on the seat. A few seconds passed. The feeling of being watched never went away. "…Alucard?" She began meekly, "…Are you…there?"

Nervously, she let out a shaking hand to grope around the car seat space around her but felt nothing. Maybe it was all in her head… Feeling foolish, she retreated her hand and returned back to her sitting position.

Alucard continued observing her from his safe distance.

She sighed a lot.  
>She scratched at her arm a lot.<br>She moved her head a lot.

Eventually, she stopped moving and sat completely still, her mouth slack and slightly parted. When the car turned a fierce right around a corner, Ruby followed the motion, swaying, before she promptly landed over his lap.

He stared down at her when she didn't get up, believing that she had actually fallen asleep. He pulled up the blindfold to her eyebrows and his hunch was correct – her eyes were closed - she was indeed sleeping. The girl was hapless; he gazed down at her again for a few moments before lifting her into his arms and pulled her legs up, letting them lie over the rest of the car seat – she didn't respond and he figured she was a deep sleeper – she merely slumped into his embrace and instead, mumbled something about marshmallows incoherently under her breath.

If only Ruby was like this all the time, he pondered, there wouldn't be any problems. Alucard brushed one of his long fingers down her jawline and to her chin; he used his thumb to trace the bulge of her bottom lip and leant forwards until she let out a sigh and turned away to rub her cheek against his chest in a bid to get comfortable.

He decided to simply watch her sleep in his arms instead.

…..

Ruby woke up when the car went to a stop and she went flying out of the seat. Landing on the floor of the car, she squinted in the darkness, then remembered she still had the blindfold on. She heard the chauffeur opening the door for her. They had arrived. She pulled the blindfold from her eyes and looked around the car.

She was alone.

**3 days later.**

She decided not to go home but instead, continue with her education. As noted before, the Infirmary was taken over entirely by the Hellsing Organisation after the hospital was attacked. She heard some patients and staff survived. The majority did not. Ruby's degree was temporarily postponed, and the entire faculty body were relocated to work at another hospital nearby called Pembury Hospital, including trainees and undergraduates like herself, who would now attend classes at the new hospital, starting a few days after today.

She also decided to stay at one of her parent's rented flats, Beckfield Estate, that was apparently situated a twenty minute bus journey away from the new hospital. Of course, when the chauffeur arrived and let her out she realised the area had degenerated over the years and it wasn't as splendid as it was twenty years ago and as her parents described it when they had stayed there for two or three romantic city break. The flat, having been dejected and empty for a long time, needed a lot of maintenance work. She called in a plumber to look at the bathroom tomorrow afternoon, and an electrician to get the heating working. Her wrist also seemed to have healed to some extent; it didn't hurt as much as it did and she could move it around very slightly.

_Finally_, she thought as she hammered in a defiant nail before hanging up a picture frame on the bathroom wall that said 'Home Sweet Home', _I have some kind of house that is all to myself. _

After a hard day's work of nailing a frame on the wall… as well as painting her new lounge a shocking carmine colour (she wasn't sure why she picked red. Red wasn't really her favourite colour but when she went to the Homebase store, it was the first colour she went for), Ruby stretched and replaced her brushes into the brush-cleaning solution and yawned. Tired, she wiped her forehead free of sweat, then smiled to herself and fell backwards on the floorboards she had just mopped and polished clean, to stare at the ceiling.

_Wonder how Alucard's doing - _The thought ended abruptly like a needle scraping off a record. Immediately, she mentally scolded herself._ GAH! Stop it! Stop thinking about that pervert!_

She believed they parted on somewhat stormy terms. She scrambled back up to sit cross-legged on her apartment floor, staring at the painted walls when the doorbell to her new apartment sounded off, and Ruby sprang up on all fours like a dog that had just seen its owner.

_Pizza?_

Yes, she had ordered a pizza with extra mozzarella from the local Domino's. But when she opened it, she blinked at the stranger. It was a middle-aged man with a camera around his neck. Her new neighbour. Oh goodie.

"This was left in my letterbox this morning, Miss Ashcroft." He said, with a smile.

She forgot his full name but knew his surname to be 'Munroe'. He was a sinister man. He lived in the apartment opposite hers. His living room window was thus adjacent to hers, and she really hated that fact. He really was a creepy man…She heard he had been single for years, and had withdrawn into an elusive hobby of taking pictures of birds. Or so the other neighbours say. It didn't quite explain the camera that was pointing at her window at night. Maybe there was a magpie nest in her window ledge somewhere.

"Here you go." He handed it to her but when she reached for it, his hand stroked against hers. Ruby tensed up all over, her eye twitching furiously, before she uttered her thanks and quickly slammed the door back shut. She locked the door with the key lock, a padlock, AND a chain. Panting slightly, Ruby nervously peeped into her front door spyhole to see that he was still standing at her doorstep, smiling that horrid slimy smile, before he slowly…very slowly… shuffled away…

She shivered all over. "Can't I get a break? Why are there so many weird people these days?"

Ruby looked at the letter, but frowned at it and shoved it to the side for the time being. She didn't recognise the return address that was on the back, and sighed again, then moved towards her TV where a video tape with the label 'Dracula' was stuck in her VCR. She pushed it in gently then waddled to her sofa.

She'd been curious about Alucard, so she rented an entire bunch of Dracula and/or vampire movies from the local Blockbuster store to watch (if they would help her understand his character). So far, her rented pile only consisted of old movies from the 80's to 90's since they hadn't updated their collection since 2005. Ruby switched on the first Dracula movie and watched. It was hard to concentrate; she was so hungry, she didn't want to move or do anything remotely productive from her spot on the sofa. Even going to the bathroom felt like a bother. Before long… she felt her eyelids droop…

A few hours later, Ruby woke up in the middle of the night, and groaned. The movie was finished, but she didn't remember anything she had just watched. She slowly lifted herself back up, then looked around the lounge.

It was dark.

"Oh…I fell asleep." She murmured to herself as she glanced around her surroundings again, "Where's my pizza delivery? …I missed it?" She then whined and hung her head low sadly before getting up to flip on the lights, then checked the clock on the wall.

_11pm._

She moved to the next movie and lifted it up. "Hm. Bram Stoker's Dracula. Interesting." She squinted her eyes at the label for a minute, then gasped. She hastily grabbed a scrap pad from her side and an old pen with a chewed lid and quickly scribbled 'Dracula' on it. Then she began writing it backwards.

"…Dracula spelled backwards is…A…L…U…Oh dear lord! Dracula spelled backwards is _Alucard_! I didn't even realise!" She shrieked, "…How stupid could I get?"

While she began to worry, knowing that she had the king of all vampires or the ultimate-undead-of-them-all out there somewhere and shivered, then turned back to the video tape, aghast. She shrugged and put it into the VCR machine, rewinded it, and pressed play.

Her stomach was still rumbling, she crawled to a large box by the front door, opened it, and pulled out a packet of chicken flavoured instant noodles while keeping her eyes trained on the TV screen. With the pack of noodles in hand, she drifted into the kitchen and began to slowly simmer them in a shallow pan that she filled with boiling water, listening to the movie from the kitchen. Once the noodles were done, she emptied them into a bowl and emerged out of the kitchen only to find the entire lounge engulfed in darkness although she was sure she had just switched on the lights. 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' continued to play in the background.

The window was also open.

She certainly didn't recall opening it. Nonetheless, she clutched the noodle bowl in one hand, and shuffled over to close the window. At first, she looked out groggily, staring at the dark empty street below and the orange light spots from their respective lamp posts on the road, then she slammed the window back shut, pulled the curtains over and turned round just to bump into something hard.

"Oof." She stepped back and rubbed at her nose just as some hot broth from the noodle bowl sloshed out and splashed over her front. Immediately a tear welled up in her eye. "ARGHH! HOT!"

She carefully cast aside the noodle bowl before hopping around on the spot and wiping her apron dry with a tissue before patting at the 'thing' she had bumped into blindly. _What the hell…?_ Her hands trailed up and up, she could feel flesh and silky strands of hair and before long, she felt a row of sharp, jagged teeth.

Two red eyes lit up in the darkness, and Ruby shrieked, leaping a feet backwards. "Eep! What are you doing here?"

He chuckled, his voice echoing around the small, one-bedroom apartment. "Am I not allowed to check up on my bride?"

She deadpanned, but before long, her staggered expression turned sour and she frowned up at him, "I thought Sir Integra gave you orders not to go near me."

"You fool; my Master is a powerful woman, yes… But you forgot her words… not all of my actions and intentions are under her jurisdiction."

He just called her a fool. She blinked at him blankly. She frowned and turned away from him with her arms crossed over her chest, "Go and find yourself another bride. I'm not interested, and I'm sure there are plenty of single ladies that will welcome you with open arms."

"No," He asserted, "The only one I desire is you."

"Hmph, well…don't think I didn't prepare for this moment!" She fished out a string of garlic from the side and thrust it in front of his face. "Hah! I watched and I read all about you. I know what repels you. Garlic, crucifixes, sacramental bread, holy water, silver. I don't have bread, but I got this, so _stay. Away_." She tried to sound threatening but her knees couldn't stop quaking.

And then he smacked it out of her hand and it went flying to the floor.

She gasped. Before she could dive for them, he grabbed her by the back of the collar and lifted her off the ground and up to him. She kicked and flailed helplessly, swinging side to side like the pendulum on a clock. "Let gooo!" She wailed. "…How did you even find me anyway?"

He'd been in the car with her and heard her speak her destination but it didn't make a difference anyway. "I will be able to find you, wherever you are. Your scent beckons me and therefore, you cannot run from me." He replied. She swallowed down that growing lump in her throat as he dropped her, then removed his fedora and sunglasses and placed them down on the side table. She watched, and frowned once again. He was making himself home already? He added, "…There's a human saying … hm, what was it now? …ah, yes…_absence makes the heart grow fonder_."

"It's only been three days, Alucard."

"Yes, and I have been tearing at my basement walls just by the mere thought of you, girl."

And here Ruby was having the time of her life renovating her apartment and living off instant noodles. Nevertheless, she blushed furiously at his words, but quickly shook her head to clear her mind. "Get out of my house."

"No."

"Get out of my house."

"No."

"Get out of my house!"

He smirked, "_No_."

Ruby roared in frustration but admitted defeat. Fine, she'd let him stay in her house. Fine. Just fine! She said nothing then, and promptly marched past him to switch the light back on before reaching for her bowl of noodles which she began to slurp with a fork as she sat cross-legged on the apartment floor.

"Giving me the cold shoulder, are you?" He mused out loud as he moved to sit down behind her on the sofa with his legs crossed; she didn't say anything. "You must understand. This was your fate." She ignored him again before settling down to watch the TV; he slid his gaze languidly at the screen. Dracula. He smirked, "How quaint. You're doing your research about me."

A few minutes later, she said, "I am not." The cold shoulder didn't last very long.

Alucard glanced to her rented pile of Dracula/vampire movies in the corner and snickered. "I hope you realise they are portrayals and mere fantasies from a group of very ingenious humans with wild imaginations."

"I know that!"

The next scene was the one with the brides. Ruby's eyes widened and she winced slightly, shrinking away from the TV as the scene played out. "Oh my god…They're naked… _NAKED_!" She exclaimed in horror. She disliked the notion of 'bride' more and more.

Alucard merely laughed at her reaction as she lifted up the remote control and fast-forwarded it.

A minute later, she asked, "…Did you really have three brides, Alucard?"

"Yes." He replied, and he took out his gun from the innards of his jacket and began inspecting it leisurely. She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise up; looking at the thing made her nervous. Guns weren't easy to possess in Britain and the people who did have them were either in the police or army, or were criminals.

Lifting her eyes off the silver barrel of the Casull, she said, "At the same time?"

"Yes."

She was surprised he wasn't deliberately hiding anything or reluctant to tell her. "…What happened to them?"

He took a while to reply. "They're dead."

"O-Oh." Ruby stammered out. She shouldn't have asked. "I…I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago. I am a changed man. Besides, I have found my mate."

_Of course you are a changed man, you've turned monogamous now_. She thought, with a roll of her eyes. Although she sounded she didn't care what he had just said, or the fact that he had three brides all at once, her stomach squeezed like a tight knot. "…Aren't you offended? I mean… they made so many movies about you. They make you old and decrepit and ugly and you always get killed in the end. Look, they even made a cereal out of you." She reached over to the side and lifted up a breakfast cereal box with a cartoon drawing of a stereotypical depiction of Dracula that said 'Brekkie Bites' on the front.

Alucard watched the box with slight amusement dancing in his eyes, "I have come to accept whatever the world has come to see me as." He replied, as Ruby put away the box; his gaze drifted to the movie on the TV just to see a vampire with dilated eyes was hissing and spitting. "As long as you do not see me that way, I am content."

Her mouth opened to a certain extent. She was surprised. "…Really?" And she felt bad for always yelling at him or having a nasty inflection in her tone whenever she spoke to him, or telling him that she thought he was a compete and utter pervert. Maybe he had changed. Whatever he was in the past, he was not anymore.

Suddenly, Alucard let out a deep chuckle and she blinked up at him. "What is it?"

"You pity." He said, steadying his gaze at her as he returned his gun back into his coat, "You feel pity for the monster?"

She bit down on her bottom lip and said nothing. "…Do you want me to be scared of you or something?"

"Not scared, my bride. Never _scared_. You must simply know your place and obey me," He corrected her, "I would never bring harm to you in any way. I shall come to you, always. And I shall protect you with everything I have, may it be my body and my damned soul."

* * *

><p>Notes -<p>

1. I personally don't know if Ruby refusing the money was Mary-Sue or not. It was a moral issue, but at the same time… in reality, could someone really refuse so much money?

2. The movie Ruby watched was the one with Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins and Keanu Reeves, made in 1992.


	6. Kiss from the No Life King

I forgot to mention in the previous chapter where the 'Intel Core' thing came from - when I first watched Hellsing, I looked up Hellsing wikia and clicked on Integra. When I saw her long name appear, the first thought that sprang to my mind was 'Intel Core?' I'm not sure why, guess I'm just weird O.o

* * *

><p><em>Kiss from the No-Life King<em>

**3 days ago. Hellsing Mansion.**

Caitlin Fowler. Missing. Aged eighteen. Last seen walking down a busy street to get a taxi after a night-out with friends. 1am.

Annette McGuire. Missing. Aged twenty two. Last seen leaving a Sainsbury's supermarket at 10pm.

Mary Sullivan. Missing. Aged twenty five. Last seen outside a bar called The Counting House. 3am.

Integra rubbed at her temples as she scrolled through the seemingly endless list of names. Beside her, Walter poured her a cup of coffee before retreating back to his spot with the thermal flask in hand. She took a sip from the cup and looked away from the list. "Alucard." She commanded.

The vampire emerged upside down from the ceiling, shadows encircling around his mid-torso. "...You called, master?"

"There's been a string of seemingly unrelated_ incidents_," Integra began, watching him drift through and land on the floor. "Women all across the country, particularly in Southern England, are going missing at an alarming rate at various times of the night. Normally, the Metropolitan Police would handle these cases, but I have just been informed they have no leads. No witnesses. No information. Nothing."

Alucard grinned at her, his eyes hidden by the shadows brought by the wide brim of his hat. "It may be vampiric activity. It may not be."

Integra glanced down at the computer screen, then she nodded. "None of the women have turned up dead yet. I suppose that's a good sign. The sooner we investigate, the sooner we prevent any more disappearances. I want you to go and find out about anything you can. Here, take this. There are profiles and photos of the missing women in there. Study hard, my servant."

She promptly tossed over a manila folder, which he caught in his hand smoothly. "Yes… my master."

* * *

><p><strong>Present.<strong>

Alucard wasn't really disobeying his Master; he just thought he should check up on his mate before he went to find more about the missing women (and maybe find the missing women themselves). Unfortunately, every time he did go see his mate, they'd end up arguing or departing on somewhat stormy terms.

"Just because I'm your mate doesn't mean you own me!" She was yelling, her tiny fists clenching. And then she went on about equality and other things he couldn't really care much about.

Why were females so difficult these days? Back then, all they were concerned with were looking pretty, finding decent husbands and how to be a good wife. They had always been vain and did all sorts of things for his attention; he didn't encourage it nor did he indulge in it. He just simply let it be, let it happen. He had no objections. But his bride didn't seem like that all. In fact, she seemed repelled by him. Then again, his Master was nothing like that either, that was for sure. Neither was Police Girl. All he knew was, this generation of females were simply fascinating.

His mate had finally stopped ranting and raving, switched off the movie and the apartment fell deadly silent except from the loud ticking from the clock on the wall. They had never had a decent conversation with each other; even if they did speak, they'd just be talking about vampires and how she was his mate and frankly enough, she was getting a bit tired. And now she'd just found he had three brides before her and hell, maybe he'll have more in the future.

"So you do acknowledge that you are my mate?" Alucard said, watching her from the corner of his eyes.

"Wh-Wha – " She spluttered, her face reddening. "I-I-I didn't mean – I was just… hypothetically speaking, I –– Dude! You just told me you had three wives! How do you think I'd react to that?"

"You misunderstand. A mate is different than a bride. A bride may also refer to a draculina a vampire takes for himself. Mates are predestined, established by a bond that transcends any other. After one has found their mate, there is no need for a vampire to have more brides."

_And he's a monogamous man now_, she thought again. "Please, no more 'mate' stuff for the time being. I want a break…" She mumbled, before she collapsed against her apartment floor, sighing.

He watched her. He didn't know why she seemed so repulsed by the fact that she was his mate. He wasn't against it. He had waited centuries. He didn't particularly dislike her or anything. She didn't do anything to irritate him; she was difficult, that was all. She was a challenge. She was young, but everything she did had an exquisite edge to them. He had the feeling she was strong and independent, and so far, she'd proven him right. For once, he was glad his destined bride could hold out on her own, and wouldn't have to depend on him too much. "You'll catch a cold if you lie on the floor." He said.

She scoffed at him and rolled her eyes, "Don't you have work to do? Aren't there dangerous vampires out there to kill? If Sir Integra caught you lazing around, she won't be too happy."

"Police girl is filling in. She needs more practise."

_Police girl?_ He must mean Seras, since she had told Ruby that she used to work for the police. "What's your job called anyway?"

He didn't reply. Ruby followed his gaze, realising that he was now staring at the newspaper on her coffee table. The headlines said 'METROPOLITAN POLICE CONFIRMED 15 WOMEN MISSING IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND'. "There is no proper title." She then heard him murmur absent-mindedly.

_Well, he kills evil vampires, so then I guess it's called 'vampire hitman' or something_. "Do you even earn any money for your work?"

"Monetary rewards are insignificant. Humans have too many wants and needs; I grew tired of materialistic possessions and wanton desires." He said. "I have all I need right here. Including you."

She flushed again and fumbled on the spot as she stood back up, watching him disdainfully. "W-Well, you're still not staying here tonight." She went over and tried to pull him off the sofa by grabbing onto one side of his duster but he didn't budge. Instead, he sought the opportunity that she had come so close to him to grab her wrist and pull her down over his lap. She landed over him in an awkward fashion.

"…A-Alucard?" She squawked, cringing madly. His arms wrapped around her shoulder and he pulled her against him before he began applying light kisses all over her jaw and down to her neck. She squirmed in his grasp; he seemed to enjoy it this time, much to her chagrin.

He pulled away from her and pressed his lips to her ear, "And you have a job too, my bride."

She really wished he would stop calling her that. "…Like what?"

"Pleasuring me."

She choked and her face went bright red in response.

"That is what brides are for."

Ruby choked again and began pointing helplessly to the TV. "B-But they – "

He ignored her and flipped her onto her back before he moved to straddle her, seizing hold of her wrists so she couldn't retaliate.

She stared up with widened eyes at the grinning vampire, her face drained of all colour. His red eyes glinted madly, crazed with lust. She only managed one unintelligible noise before he descended his lips over hers entirely. She resorted in clamping her eyes shut while trying to push him off her – which was no use; trying to shove him off was like trying to move a thousand-tonne cinderblock. "Don't – " She squeaked, only to have interrupt by a finger placed on her lips.

"Do not resist… I merely wish to learn you."

Her eye twitched. "Learn? LEARN? _**Get off me**_!" She yelled, as she tried to turn her face to the side only for him to let go of one wrist, to grasp at her chin and force her back to face him as he continued to press kisses over the corner of her mouth hotly. He groaned while kissing her, before his hands moved down low to grip under her thighs and he lifted her legs up around his waist, his fingers kneading into her flesh as he leant back down to press his body against hers, caging her between the sofa and himself.

In response, she finally stopped resisting and let out a stifled gasp, before flinching away automatically from the unfamiliar but delicate touch; her heart was hammering against her ribs furiously. She had never been intimate to this extent with a man before. She didn't know what to do. Her mind felt foggy and conflicted.

"Ah," He mused when he saw her reaction, "I found it. Your _weak spot_."

She let out a jumbled noise from the back of her throat and turned away, her face warming like crazy as his hand continued to slide over her thighs in long, teasing strokes. His smirk widened with pure masculine satisfaction, knowing that he tamed her; she was utterly powerless against him. She surrendered to his touch. His cold, ethereal, inhuman touch. It was something she would never get accustomed to.

Her mind was still hazy, and when he reached down to kiss her again, she did not try to stop him. His kisses were slow but deep, so sensual and passionate. She shivered, completely at a loss of what was happening to her. She was succumbing to him. It didn't feel so bad. Alucard was attractive; even though she had yelled at him before that she wasn't interested and didn't like him one bit; she realised she said a lot of things she didn't mean. Her heart racing, the desire to run her hands through his raven hair was starting to mount, the craving to kiss him back was devastating and she lifted her head and…

He pulled back before their lips touched, "What are you doing, kitten?"

Her eyes flew open and she suddenly realised what she had just done. The sheer realisation of the fact that she had wanted to kiss him back besieged her and she felt ashamed of herself.

"You want me to kiss you?" Alucard purred, his lips skimming over her eyelids, down the contours of her nose and back to her lips.

Her face flushing, she glanced back down hastily and squeezed her eyes shut, "I…I…"

"Do you want me to kiss you, Ruby?" He purred, biting down on her bottom lip gently but affectionately, "Do you crave for my love, my attention?"

Conflicted and confused, Ruby did the first thing that sprang to mind – she shoved him away from her, or tried to, he continued gripping both of her wrists whilst leaning into her. She turned her head away, furious at herself. "N-No! I don't… I shouldn't…god, what's wrong with me…?"

"Your body longs for me as much as I long for you." He murmured, and she flushed brilliantly as Alucard leant closer, his lips ghosting over the side of her neck. The tip of his tongue flicked out of his mouth and he began to lick up her skin teasingly, making her shudder and whimper. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear this torment anymore. "I will give you everything..." He purred, as he retreated his tongue from her nape, "..._If you let me in_..."

Breathing heavily in ragged breaths, she opened her eyes weakly and swallowed down as he slowly let go of her wrists. His hands landed on the basin of her chin, his thumb rubbing circles on her cheek tenderly. Ruby exhaled shakily again as she lay still, allowing him to do as he wished, and when he finally closed the gap between them, their lips meshing together, the contact was gentle. Almost bearable.

She had the courage to believe this might be...right. However, the sensation quickly died away as soon as she felt her phone vibrate against her pocket. Someone was calling her? She blinked, regaining her senses and pulled away from Alucard, then rummaged for her phone. When she found it, she looked at the screen whilst he frowned as she gawked at her ringing phone.

"Put that away."

She looked up at him meekly. "…It…It's Gwen."

He frowned, "What does she want at this time?" He murmured, before he lowered his face to her neck and began nuzzling; Ruby tensed up and turned her attention to her phone that was clenched firmly in her grasp. She pressed the button and put the phone to her ear.

"H-Hello?"

"Rubes! Rubyyyyy!" Gwen slurred down from the other end. She was drunk. "How are ya?"

"Gwen, what are you – " She paused when she felt Alucard's arm tightening around her, while his other hand was snaking up and down her leg repeatedly. She held in a breath and glared at him as he continued to preoccupy himself; he merely awarded her with a teasing smirk. "Gwen, what are you doing?" She hissed down the receiver.

"Can you help me? I dun feel so good…Please? Pwetty pwease? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Urgh, Gwen, why'd you have to get yourself drunk?"

She heard her snort with laughter, cackling. "I'm havin' a good time! but I'm so tired now… please come get me… I dun think I can manage to go home by meself."

"Y-You're alone?" She stammered; as Alucard started to press kisses over her jaw. But why wasn't she resisting? Why was she letting him kiss her like that? _Stupid body_, she thought. _Do something! Kick him, elbow him…anything!_ Then again, she didn't think Alucard would ever let her kick him or elbow him.

Gwen grunted out, "Yeah. I'm all aloneeee. Please… I'm scared."

"Okay, hold on, I'll come – " She was cut off when Alucard tilted her face to him and kissed her roughly while undoing the top button of her shirt. Accidentally, Ruby let out a gasp except it came out as a moan.

"Oh my GOD!" shrieked the voice on the other end of the line. "You're with Alucard, aren't you?"

_SHIT!_ Ruby pulled away from him immediately and swatted his hand away from her shirt. "I-I-I'm going to hang up now!"

"Eeee! Wait! I'm at the Counting House! You know which one! Hurry up and get me – "

Ruby hung up without further ado; the phone dropped out of her hands. She let out a frustrated groan and then - "YOU!" She snapped at Alucard, "Don't do that ever again! Get off me! Stop touching me! And stop trying to take my clothes off! Control yourself, geez! I have to go –

"Go?" He questioned, with an eyebrow raised. "But we were enjoying ourselves, my bride."

She flushed. She didn't want to hear that. "I-I…Y…You…Alucard, I-I'm only going to go out for ten minutes..." Maybe she should ask him to come with her…This thought ended like a needle scraping off a record, too. _WHAT? Ask Alucard? No way. I know what Gwen's like when she sees me with him. She will never leave me alone. She'll end up interrogating me and I'll never get any rest. _

She got up and Alucard moved off her, surprisingly enough, yet his face held a displeased frown. Ruby scrabbled to fetch her jacket and shoes and hobbled towards the front door until Alucard appeared beside her as she opened the door - he slammed it back shut. "H-Hey!" She yelped, although her voice was wobbling. "What are you doing?"

"Look at me." He crooned as he gazed deeply into her eyes. Suddenly, Alucard's body became engulfed in darkness and Ruby gasped, just as a single, large red eyeball stared back at her.

"Wha-Wha – " She squeaked with fright and stumbled backwards. The eye continued glaring at her. On the floor, she stared helplessly at the array of red, unblinking eyes staring at her with furious, unrefined power. Where did this come from? What was going on? She tried to get stand back up, just as her hand touched slimy and…and moving.

Her eyes widened. "C-C-C-C-Centipede!"

And it was huge!

Terrified, Ruby pulled off her shoe and tried to whack at it. No use. The thing was like freaking Super Centipede or something. No matter how many times she slapped it around, it still didn't die! She screamed again and withdrew her hand just as more centipedes crawled over her legs. She was too scared to touch them so she merely resorted to kick them off. "What the fu – " Ruby looked around as more eyeballs dotted Alucard's silhouette, and they began blinking at different intervals, creating an unnerving display. "Ahhhhh! What's going on?"

_Resistance is futile._

His voice echoed everywhere.

_You will listen to everything I tell you to._

The room was spinning; the eyes still blinking madly. Alucard's voice never ceased, mingled with his laughter. Ruby shook her head fiercely, trying to get his voice out of her head but by then, one single thought took over, implanted on her mind. "…I…will…listen…to everything you…tell me to do." She muttered out unfocusedly.

Her blue eyes had a faint tinge of red within the pupils.  
>Hypnotised.<p>

That was easier than he thought. Alucard stopped, and returned to his usual form slowly. He smirked down at her as she sat crumpled and defeated in front of him. "You are not to leave this house. You are to stay here, with me."

"Yes." She mumbled, in her hypnotised trance. Unlike most of his victims, she didn't have a silly grin on her face.

"...Yes...?"

"_Master_." She finished.

"Good little virgin girl." Alucard replied, with a smirk as he moved back to the sofa. "Sit." He commanded, and Hypnotised Ruby stood up, shuffled forwards and plopped herself back down beside him on the couch. Now this was nice. Really nice. He wanted to roar with laughter. Hypnotised Ruby said nothing when he spread his legs to some extent and patted his knee. "Sit _here_."

"Yes, master." She manoeuvred herself to sit in his lap. Alucard wrapped his arms around her and drew her close, before deciding to move her himself; he lifted her legs and positioned them so that she was now straddling him. She gazed back at him wordlessly, even when he raised a hand to brush some hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear. He smirked at her before pulling her forwards to capture her lips with his in a harsh kiss. She didn't respond.

He drew away. "Kiss me back." He growled, "And kiss me like you mean it."

Again, she drawled in her hypnotic trance, "Yes, master," then she placed both hands on each side of his face and pressed her lips against his in a matter of seconds. He seemed pleased, and pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapping securely around her waist to deepen the kiss. She gasped for breath after a few seconds, yet he swooped down on her again, nipping on her bottom lip and around the contours of her mouth. Her fingers dug into his thick, tousled locks in return and he slid his tongue in between her parted lips, stroking her mouth idly.

His control was slowly withering away and as they kissed harder, he moved his hand to her leg, gently squeezing her upper thigh. He pulled her tightly up against him, and leaned over to suck at her neck. She let him, let him suckle and lick at her flesh and she trailed her hands up and over his chest, just when he reared back, panting.

"Ruby…" He breathed, "I...want you…"

His couldn't hold it in any longer; he pulled away her hair from her nape and stared at her exposed skin. His eyes teemed with desire before he let his fangs elongate and he sunk them into her flesh without hesitating.

The pain struck her like lightning and she blinked.

_Huh? What am I doing?_

_Oh.  
>I'm sitting down. Mm…comfy…<em>

_Hey...W-Wait a minute._

…_what the…_

Ruby let her eyes adjust to the wall in front of her. She was sitting down, even though she swore she had been standing not too long ago. She had also been talking to Alucard. He was being difficult again. The uncomfortable pressure on her neck was also something new; and she looked down to where her hands should be. She was holding onto –

_Alucard?_

And he was biting her.

"Hey!" She yelped, "Let go! Geroff me - "

He released her neck as she demanded, smirking triumphantly. He didn't draw blood, no, he just bit her. His arms were around her, too; her legs were wrapped around his waist in a shameful position. She struggled, although this only made him groan.

"…You…_**HYPNOTISED **_ME?" She roared furiously as she finally managed to wriggle out from his grip. And the worst part was… she didn't remember what had happened. What had he done to her when she was hypnotised? She was breathing heavily, her mouth wet and sore, if that was any help. She quickly grabbed her bag and keys and made a frantic dash to the door, but before she left, she turned back to him. "I can't…I can't believe you'd – Even if I am your mate, you had no right to do that! I hate you! I hate everything about you! From your stupid ugly hat to your stupid fugly sunglasses and-and - "

She was running out of things to say.

"...I...I never want to see you again!"

And then she slammed the door shut behind her.

Alucard did not follow her.


	7. The Vampire Bar

The previously chapter was controversial but it's up to you if you think Alucard hypnotised Ruby out of 'needs' or if he was just playing around with her because he seems to do that a lot but even then it may have been over-the-top for him to do so.

Anyway, onto the next chapter.

* * *

><p><em>The Vampire Bar<em>

The Counting House was a bar in the city. Ruby and Gwen often went here on a few Friday nights after work. Ruby arrived, having to squeeze through a throng of smokers lurking outside the door. She had to show her ID to the bouncer at the door before she was allowed in. Once she stepped in, she walked past the dancefloor, staring around awkwardly at dancing couples and made her way to the bar.

"Hey, Travis." She greeted the bartender. He was a man in his mid-twenties, tall and lean, dressed in a white shirt and black waistcoat and gold wristbands. Ever since Ruby and Gwen started coming here, they'd become friends with some staff members.

As soon as he saw her approach the counter, he grinned at her, "Ruby! Long time no see!" He stopped polishing the wine glass he was holding and they exchanged a high five. "How's it going?"

She let out an awkward laugh. She wasn't sure if she could tell him about Alucard so she gave him a casual shrug, "… Um, have you seen Gwen?"

"She's over there." He kindly pointed her to the direction of her friend. "Want a drink first? I'll make you something nice, especially for you."

"Oh no, it's okay, you don't have to do that for me."

"No, no, I insist. You, er…you look a bit stressed."

Stressed? Ruby blinked at him, then nodded. "You have NO idea what I have been through this week."

He took out a clean glass from under the counter, "Is it work? I heard what happened to the hospital. The media were all over it like wildfire." He added in an unknown drink and some Drambuie and finally dunked in some ice cubes before sliding the glass over to her, "A biological terrorist with a contagious virus."

She picked it up and took a sip. It tasted good; she quickly drank until she was already halfway finished. "Biological terrorist?"

"Yep. That's what they're saying." Travis said, and he leaned over the counter, "…Between you an' me, I think they're covering something up."

Ruby croaked, "R-Really? Oh, um, no, no, it was a terrorist. But everything's okay now. They had to shut it down. We're continuing our course elsewhere but – " Ruby was interrupted by a loud snort of laughter that turned all heads only she realised it was Gwen. She cringed, and Travis gave her a playful shrug.

"You better go to her."

She nodded, finished the rest of her drink, and thanked Travis. "Talk to you later." Ruby left the bar area and hastily trotted towards the seats, eventually locating her friend at a shady corner table as Travis had directed her to. Gwen was a drunken mess, in a skimpy, glittery top and equally skimpy short skirt and 5-inch high stilettos, slurring over some sensible-looking guy with floppy chestnut brown hair and blue eyes.

"Rubes! Rubes, you're here!" Gwen cheered, watching Ruby pad up to them. The booming music was a distraction; Ruby felt like someone was repeatedly hammering her in the head with a mallet. She couldn't even hear properly.

"I thought you said you were alone." Ruby yelled over the loud music.

"OOOHHHH! No…No, nooooooooo I just thought you should come and have fun with us! Look! I met a guy!" Gwen yelled back, gesturing to her companion.

He didn't look so drunk. "… I think Gwen has had a little too much to drink." He said. He was young and handsome, roughly around their age.

And Gwen elbowed him, guffawing, "See? I told you she was cute! Come on, Rubes, don't just stand here looking all stupid, siddown! Siddown and have a drink! Come talk to us…Talk to him… I told him bout us… y'know, our whole nurse work and shiet and what happened at the hospital…an' I told him all 'bout you and he said he was interested in nurse work an' you so I sed Ima going to hook you guys up… SEE? I'm such a good FREN. I do everything for you. Even try an' get you a new boyfriend. All for you."

Ruby felt a vein in her head pop, realising she been lured out for a matchmaking session she didn't even want. "Gwen, I thought you were in trouble…" She tried to lift Gwen up from the seat.

"Hehe. Me? Truble? Naw…"

The guy sitting beside Gwen stood up all of a sudden. "…You know what? I'm…uh…I'm going to go to the bathroom." The guy said, and he sidled down to the dancefloor, which was completely the opposite direction of the bathroom. He was leaving? Ruby raised an eyebrow; Gwen must've scared him away. She wasn't surprised.

Ruby went to reach for Gwen but she pulled away from her. "You're always so edgy! Relax and have some fun, have a few drinks, get drunkkkkkkk." Along with the strong alcohol smell, she also smelled like cigarettes; Ruby's nose scrunched up in distaste, repelled by the stench. "C'mon! Just one drink!" And Gwen pointed to this glass with a strange pink liquid inside with a floating piece of lime.

"No, Gwen, you're drunk. Let's go home."

The girl whined loudly and wriggled around in the seat. "But Travis made that especially fur me, an' I don't wanna waste it. Rubes, you drink it."

She already had one of Travis' special cocktails. "Gwen, I don't – "

"Rubes, come on…?" She looked around shortly, "...Hey, where's Alucard?"

Ruby stiffened all over. "…Oh. Um…he…he…er…"

"He's not here? You two had another argument?"

She felt a little depressed; Ruby thought what she had said to him was rather out of line. "W-Well...uh...we..."

"C'mon, siddown an' we'll talk about it, you know, we'll have some…uhhh…durhh… err…oh, yes, girl talk." Gwen grunted out as she grabbed Ruby's arm and dropped her down to the seat beside her. Gwen lifted the glass with the strange pink liquid and goaded her to drink it. "Drink this; it'll make you feel better."

Ruby eyed the glass warily, "No, I don't – " But she was interrupted when Gwen practically grabbed the cup and rammed it into her mouth forcibly. Ruby unwillingly gulped down a few sips and coughed and spluttered and glared angrily as soon as Gwen let go of her. "_**GWEN**_!"

But Gwen was laughing and guffawing to herself uncontrollably. "You…shoulda seen the look on yer face… OH MAI IMA GONNA PEE MY PANTS!"

Ruby furiously wiped at her mouth, still coughing slightly. "….."

"Well? It was good, wasn't it?"

Her mouth was tingling. It was sweet but it had this tasty zest to it. She unconsciously licked her lips. "…What is it? I've never drank anything like this before."

"I know, right? Why don't you try more and guess what's in it? See, you should really do more of this…stuff. You know, get out more and drink crap. You're so uptight and such a goodie-goodie all the time."

She reluctantly shifted her eyes to the glass. Was she really that uncool? Was she precisely what Alucard said she was, a 'good little virgin girl'? Was she that much of a goodie-two-shoes? Was it an insult? She didn't know. Well… whatever Alucard thought she was, she didn't want to be anymore. Ruby glumly threw her gaze to her lap, as she sat, pondering.

"…Maybe another sip wouldn't hurt…" Ruby finally mumbled out, before grabbed the glass and downed some more. And more. And more. Before long, Ruby's head was spinning. The music got louder. Her head was throbbing, but she felt good. It was a peculiar feeling… like being on cloud nine. Suddenly, Alucard and vampires didn't exist. The fact that she had just made out unwittingly with Alucard on her sofa and probably got up to no other good things with him back at the apartment didn't exist. Everything was back to normal. She was back to just being Ruby Ashcroft. A regular girl sitting her nursing degree. Nobody's bride or mate. Certainly not Alucard's.

Groaning, she eventually succumbed to the alcohol flowing in her veins and flopped down onto the seat beside Gwen , drunk. A few hours later and Ruby and Gwen were suddenly at the dancefloor, singing and laughing raucously and tunelessly, swaying their bodies to the beat of the music playing.

"Having fun, Rubes?" Gwen yelled over the loud music.

"Stop calling me that."

"What? _Rubes_? Why not?"

"Because it rhymes with that word… that butt-ugly word… people used to bully me with it at school…"

"Rhymes with what word? Tubes?"

"Noooooo, not that one."

"Cubes?"

"Not that either."

"Then what is it?"

"Guess."

"…eh…I dunno…"

"PUBES, goddamnit!"

"OOooooHHHhhh!"

Ruby suddenly felt a strange taste rise in the pit of her stomach. She stopped dancing and held at her head, the room was spinning. Gwen in front of her suddenly split into two, then three and four. She knew she'd have a hangover and feel ten times worse in the next morning. "I'm…I'm gonna go to the toilets…" Ruby moaned out, and she wobbled off the dancefloor and towards the direction of the ladies room.

Once inside, she emptied the contents of her stomach down into the bowl, flushed it, then waddled back outside and washed her mouth and hands. She was feeling better now. The music wasn't so loud in the bathroom. Ruby looked at her reflection in the mirror; she looked a state. Ashamed of herself for her behaviour and what it had reduced her to, she tidied her hair and pulled back up the strap of her top that had fallen off her shoulder.

"I better get out of here…" She mumbled, checking the clock on the wall. _3am. _But when she took a step, she suddenly collapsed back onto the floor for no reason. Stunned, she blinked stupidly at herself before trying to get back up. Her arms and legs wouldn't move, her muscles were weak and practically dead. Immobile, she looked around groggily.

_What…what's happening to me…? _She groaned, her eyelids growing heavy. She didn't realise drinking too much alcohol could do this to you. But when the door to the bathroom opened, and she looked up, she squinted her eyes at the familiar figure. "…Travis?"

"That's the one I was telling you about." He said; he was speaking to two men in black who were standing on his left and right. "Forget about her friend; it's this one we want."

…..

Ruby woke up with a groan; her head was hammering and she felt like she wanted to throw up again. As soon as her vision returned, she looked up to see Travis. Beside him, was a pretty girl with long permed hair tied into a loose bun. Ruby glanced down at herself; she wasn't in her sweater and jeans anymore. She tried to make sense of the moment; her clothes felt itchy and foreign, that was a first – it was then she noticed she too was also in a lacy black dress that was almost in a similar fashion to the girl who was standing beside Travis.

"…Where…" Ruby began weakly, her eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the lighting of the room.

"Are you?" Travis finished for her, as he patted her knee affectionately. It was then she realised that she was also tied to a chair with her arm tied down to each armrest. A needle and a thin catheter was sticking out of her arm. Beside her, were other girls also lined up in chairs with catheters rammed in their arms, too. Ruby stared at the transparent tube and followed it. To her horror, the catheter was linked to a huge, whirring machine that was filled with something…red.

Her eyes widened. _…Is that…blood?_

And Travis said, "Don't worry, you're still in The Counting House. Just in the other, unseen section. It's completely inaccessible to humans. Basically, you're in a bar, for vampires."

Ruby turned back to him; there were more machines in the room she was in. They had labels that said 'A' and 'B' and 'AB' and then 'O'. Blood types. She paled immediately. "…Vampire…bar?"

"It's quite hard to get access to blood unless you either a) feed on a human, or b) have a blood-related medical condition, which unfortunately, not many vampires have or are even capable of…As easy as you think it is for them to catch a human and suck on the blood, some of us found a way to make a profit because… let's just say not all of them are so different from us," Travis explained.

"Huh? What do you mean…?"

"We opened a bar that sells blood to male vampires… well, uh, so far, eighty five per cent of our customers are male. Don't worry, we have a limit to how much blood can be drank from each of our girls so no-one dies. It's like giving the vampires food on a plate. A restaurant. I mean, we humans can cook and we have access to supermarkets and crap but sometimes we still like to go out to a nice restaurant for a meal, call a take-away, get a pizza, don't we? You know, because it's faster that way, more convenient and maybe even more cheaper and hell, maybe you wanna go out and eat for the _experience_? So our bar is like that. We drain you, but then wait until you've recovered a bit of blood, and then you go straight back to work again."

"Did you… spike that drink you made for me?"

He nodded.

"This…This is crazy…"

"But it works. Have you seen the news lately?" He began as he cradled a small revolver in his hand, "About the recent kidnapping of young women?"

She slowly put two and two together. She was now one of the young women kidnapped. Her eyes widened momentarily. "…But…why?"

"A vampire bar." He insisted, "Is _**very**_ profitable."

She couldn't believe her ears. A vampire bar. Surely they must have had some form of financial support for this. But who would be sick in the mind to give money to fund this kind of establishment? The mere notion and thought disgusted her. "You…creep...Why me…? And how do you know about vampires?"

He let out a sigh and glanced down at his lap. "It's a funny story, actually. We didn't want to do this. But it's either we let them kill people, or we provide humans to them, willing or unwilling. Not all vampires are bloodthirsty and violent. The ones who were changed unwillingly and weren't drained completely by violent vampires come here. It's funny to see how desperate they are to retain whatever humanity they have left."

Ruby didn't remotely understand.

"I also think you are a good candidate; you're interesting and pretty and I think we will get a lot of customers if we use you. The stakeholders and the return on investment is also extremely high, you know, so there's a lot of pressure on us to do well. It was either you or Gwen. Personally, I find Gwen too loud and immature and she'll probably blow our cover soon. You're different. You're more shy and quiet and reserved. So, we kinda watched you for a bit, and talked to you… got to know you a bit… and then when we managed to gain your trust… well, let's just say, when Gwen came tonight, I knew you'd be coming too."

She growled at him. "You…You…_How could you_?"

"Oh, and in terms of the looks department, you really don't disappoint." He continued, "Aside from having all types of blood on the menu – Pretty girls are also a priority on the menu. Gwen has also been kind enough to tell me that you live alone, have no other friends aside from her, that you're currently arguing with your boyfriend, and that your parents are old and scraggy and all the way in Kent. So, if you went missing, no-one would really care."

Ruby gritted her teeth. …_Stupid Gwen…she just talks far too much for her own good._

"Of course, if you become one of those zombie-freaks afterwards, then we'll have to kill you." He held his gun up and cocked it, "Sorry about that. It's nothing personal. But if you don't, then you can continue being a vampire's cocktail and a playtoy."

Ruby felt her breath shortening in fear. She tried to struggle to find that not only was she feeling sick and weary, and her muscles were completely useless. "…what did you do to me…?"

"Sometimes, the vampires like to have playmates, so…we drugged you. So you don't kick and scream when they bite. And by the way, just to let you know…That drug… a side effect is that it kinda makes you tell the truth. So…" Travis rolled his eyes to the side, grinning boorishly at her. He decided to try his luck. "…What kind of guy do you like?"

Uh oh. The truth serum was kicking in. "…I like tall, dark…big, strong men…." Ruby found herself blurting out while drooling slightly from the corner of her mouth. Ahh, the shame…But it wasn't her fault… She couldn't control herself!

"So what do you think of me? Do you like me?"

Ruby blinked at him slowly, then - "I think you're sick and ugly."

"Why you - !" He was going to hit her, his arm raised, but the girl standing beside him stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Travis, don't!" She screamed, "Don't hit her!"

Upon her request, he lowered his arm. "...Okay...fine...No, nope… no, no, no…I know it too. I cannot harm the goods. The customer won't be happy if there's a mark on them, or if they're defective…" He got off the stool that was at her side and strolled over to the door, his polished boots squeaking off the floor.

Ruby began gaping at the ceiling in her delirious trance. And Travis turned to his assistant, "Make her pretty. Doors open now."

"Yes, sir." The girl nodded, turned away from Travis and bent down over Ruby with her make-up bag and slowly took out a pot of pink blusher and a mascara.

Ruby stared at the make-up anxiously, beads of sweat dripping from her temples. So, not only was she in a revealing, slutty black dress that was itchy and would probably give her a rash, but she was also going to get a make-over. Trembling, Ruby tried to inch away but the girl seized her by the chin and began applying make-up. Travis nodded with a satisfied smile, then slammed the door shut.

As Ruby was left with the make-over girl and other unconscious girls sitting in the chairs beside hers, she said, "Who are you?"

"Mary." replied the girl, "My name is Mary Sullivan."

"Mary?" Ruby began. Then her head felt foggy again and she found herself blurting out, "I know a Mary…yes, I know one…I wonder how she's doing… I've not seen her for a long, long time…"

Mary smiled. "Really? Well…It _**is**_ a common name. Who was she?"

"…She looked after me because my parents were always working...They never had time for me..." Ruby continued to babble due to the truth drug, but then she squinted her eyes, as if trying to focus properly again, "…Why are you doing this…?"

"I really want a Louis Vuitton bag. But they're so expensive. If I do this for part-time, I can get one in just 2 more days." She said, "At first, I was scared too, but I understand now."

But Ruby shook her head. "Understand? How can you… sell yourself like this? Blood is…is…life…It's your life."

She shrugged. "It's just blood. It comes back. Besides… it might even stop vampire attacks. Maybe in this way, we can actually save people."

Ruby stared at her wordlessly. She heard what Mary said but didn't completely comprehend. Each blink she took also seemed to take five minutes; her mind was foggy and heavy with fatigue. She groaned and moved her head up to look at her bound wrists, and her ankles. She couldn't move, completely immobile in her seat. "You…" Ruby began again, squinting her eyes at Mary, "…When I get out of here, I'll…I'll…I'll…" She didn't finish her sentence; her vision was blurring, her head throbbing. "Owwww…"

Mary finally stopped patting Ruby's face with some blusher and smiled as she plopped her make-up back into her purse. "There you go, my precious little angel. I'll look after you from now on. If anyone bullies you, tell me." The girl left her room shortly, leaving Ruby alone. She could hear each step from Mary's stilettos echoing further and further away. Now what…? Wait? Wait to become vampire food? Ruby tried to free herself again but to no avail. The ropes were too tight. And it was digging into her skin. The catheter also didn't budge at all. It hurt like hell if she struggled too much, and she was already feeling sore enough all over already.

Where the heck was Alucard when you needed him? Ruby shook her head fiercely, trying to get rid of the thought. No way. She couldn't let him see her like this...in some raunchy black dress complete with suspenders and lace. It'd be too embarrassing.

Suddenly, there was a loud 'thunk' and Ruby looked up, terrified. The machine closest to her was switching on, and inside, mechanical blades began whirring, churning the blood harvested inside. Ruby threw her gaze down to her arm, where she felt an uncomfortable pressure and then her blood began to get sucked out, the rich, crimson fluid shooting out from her arm and into the machine.

No-one heard her screaming.

….

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened. The machine had stopped and her blood was no longer forcibly taken from her. Dazed and weak from blood loss, Ruby looked up to see Travis.

"Good news! A vampire wants a physical sample of our goods. Hmm, let's see… Ruby, I'll nominate you for tonight, just so you know how we do things around here."

Ruby began to panic. "N-No…No, no, no!" She shrieked, shaking her head as Travis unhooked the catheter from her arm, pressed a plaster over the cut and lifted her off the chair. She was too weak to fight back.

He carried her out of the blood room and slammed the door shut. Ruby, who was hanging over his shoulder, finally managed a good glimpse of the bar; it was a large open space with dimmed red lights and a strange incense-smell in the air, probably to masquerade the stench of blood. The blinds were hanging above a sofa where three male vampires sat, waiting to be served. They looked young, in their early twenties.

Travis carried her down the corridor with doors on each side. She happened to peep inside one room with an ajar door - Ruby caught sight of a half-conscious, drugged woman in a skimpy dress lying on the bed with two vampires drinking from each side of her neck, and two more sucking at her slit wrists. Ruby let out a horrified gasp and looked away. She felt sick, and terrified to the core.

Eventually, Travis kicked open the door to one of the rooms and she was dropped on the bed. This place was equivalent to some vampire brothel, she realised. "So you don't run, I'm going to have to tie you up." Travis said, as he protruded out some thin rope from the side.

"No, no, NO!" Ruby screamed, trying to resist, but the drug was too strong; she barely kicked an inch and succumbed, lying splayed on the bed, helpless. Her wrists and ankles were tied to each corner of the bed.

Travis moved to the door, and - "Right this way, sir! She's ready." He re-entered with a young vampire by his side. The vampire looked like a member of a biker gang, dressed in leather with spiked hair and haunting tattoos all over his arms. Travis gestured to Ruby, who was now tugging and struggling and even trying to reach up to bite at the rope that was tying her down desperately like a caged rat. Travis turned back to the customer, "You have good taste! _Literally_. This just came in - tonight! What do you think?"

"Yeah, I like. I like her. I'll have her." The vampire then dug into his pockets and handed Travis a wad of cash.

Travis's eyes lit up greedily, and he quickly stuffed the cash into his pocket. "Oooookay! You're the boss! But we're gonna check again in two minutes, because that's all you'll allowed unless you want another refill. And if you don't comply, well… let's just say it'll be sad not doing business with you anymore, sir!" Travis exclaimed enthusiastically as he cocked his small handgun.

"Yeah, yeh, whatever." The vampire shooed him away and licked his lips as he gazed at Ruby. "I'm starving, man."

Ruby paled. _ARGGGHHH! Must. Get. Out. Of. Here. Now!_

And Travis shut the door, giving Ruby a wink and a thumbs up.

She nervously watched the vampire approach her and whimpered.…_Help me, Alucard!_

….

Once he was out of the room, Travis stepped through the winding, maze-like corridor, waltzing leisurely past while looking at all the closed doors on either side of him. Pressing his ear against one of the doors, he could hear a girl screaming. He shrugged, leant off the door, and went back down the corridor, having arrived at the bar entrance where he was greeted with a sight.

All the customers, dead.

All staff members present on the floor, dead.

"What the - ?"

The culprit stood just a few feet from him, shooting three bullets into his supervisor's lifeless body. It was a tall man dressed in red, his features hidden by the wide brim of his hat. He turned round and stepped forwards, his boots crushing the supervisor's head into a pulp on the floor, now pointing his silver gun at Travis.

"…A vampire bar." said the tall man, chuckling under his breath, "What will you humans think of next?"

Fearing for his life, Travis whipped out his gun and began firing, watching the bullets pound into him. When they were finally depleted, he stared helplessly when the gun went 'click click click'. He only had six rounds in his revolver. Gasping, Travis looked up at the man – despite having six gaping wounds in his body, he was still standing.

The man looked up, revealing glowing red eyes behind his sunglasses. "My turn."

He fired a single shot from his silver gun, which slammed into Travis's right leg. Howling in agony, he doubled over onto all fours on the ground, beads of sweat dripping off his forehead. He heard the stranger approach him, before the nozzle of the silver gun was pressed against his temple.

"Ruby."

Travis squeaked, "H-Huh?"

"Where is she?"

"I-In Room 312. Oh god, don't shoot – "

He was interrupted by a single bullet being blasted into his head.


	8. Victor Sloan

First - some reviewers raised some stuff that will apply to all: what's up with the title of this story? yeah it is kinda like someone saying 'Oh My God'. Oh My Alucard was meant to be a romance/comedy but I developed on the plot a bit so it's gonna get darker. Mary Sullivan is also the girl mentioned to have been missing. Reverse Stockholm syndrome anyone?

Second - Since I started this story watching the anime, the vampire killed by Alucard in the 1st chapter turned to dust, but now I'm sticking to the OVA, so vampires killed from now on will explode like blood bombs.

Third - RARRGH I hate this chapter. I've written roughly 5-6 versions of this with extreme variations and I have just given up.

Fourth –there's swearing and gore. I also realised I have not done a disclaimer until now - I don't own Hellsing.

* * *

><p><em>The Bar that <em>_Victor Built_

"Keep your head still."

"No – no, no, no – "

Ruby kept turning her head left and right whenever the vampire tried to bite her. Eventually, the vampire roared in frustration before grabbing her face with his hands and forced her to look up at the ceiling. Grinning at her, he hovered above her on all fours and leaned down, "Yeah, that's better." He opened mouth wide, fangs baring. Ruby's eyes broadened at the sight, a few drops of saliva dripped down onto her neck, and she screamed as loudly as she could -

Suddenly, a few gunshots could be heard outside.  
>And then the door to their room slammed open.<p>

There was a voice. "_Get away from her_."

The vampire turned round to face a scowling middle-aged man in a grey suit with a cane, holding a handgun aimed at the vampire. He also had an eyepatch strapped over his right eye. "What the fuck?" The vampire exclaimed furiously, "Hey, what's the deal? I paid money – "

He was promptly silenced when the man at the doorway pulled the trigger. The bullet embedded directly into the vampire's forehead and Ruby screamed when the vampire burst into a spray of blood, staining the bedsheets and floorboards. Fearing for her life, Ruby anxiously watched the man approach her side quickly before he hastily undid her bindings, much to her surprise. She didn't recognise this man; he was in his late forties, perhaps. But the shiny rolex watch on his wrist and the sterling silver shirtcuffs confirmed her suspicions that he was definitely not an ordinary person. Maybe he was a vampire, too?

She whimpered, but the man spoke first. "Don't ask questions, just come along quietly." He said, without looking at her. He grabbed her arms and was starting to lift her off the bed. "Alright, up you go."

"No...don't…" She shook her head. She didn't want to go with this stranger nor could she move much since the drug's effect still lingered within her. The strange man resorted in throwing her over his shoulders before he shuffled out of the room, and he began racing down the corridor, far away from the staircase where a lot of screaming could be heard down the stairs… "What's going on?" Ruby managed to grunt out, still feeling weary and dizzy.

"They're being slaughtered down there, that's what." growled the man with the eyepatch, "But never mind that, as long as they buy us time to escape, that's fine. Sullivan is retrieving the other girls from the other rooms." He added, "I don't understand. Things have been running so smoothly the past few years, and Travis brings in a new girl and suddenly all hell goes loose. I should have known it was foolish of me to trust the lad."

She mumbled, "…Wait a minute…You're…"

He gave her a sideways glance but said nothing as he approached the fire exit which was a mere right from the last room at the end of the corridor. He opened the door and there was Mary, looking all sweaty and dishevelled. "…W-Where's Travis?" She questioned, her voice was trembling.

"He's dead. Deal with it. Now get this girl out of here right now along with the others. We don't have much time."

Mary was shocked. "What about you, sir?"

"Let me deal with the creature."

She paled immediately, "NO! You can't possibly… you absolutely can't – "

In response, he narrowed his single golden brown eye at her, "Listen, Sullivan. Go with the other girls outside. Don't worry, the driver will know where he's going. I won't abandon the bar. Do you understand?"

She nodded hysterically while Ruby's eyes widened as she pieced it together. "Y-You're the..."

The man with the eyepatch gazed back at her indifferently. "Yes." He replied, confirming her suspicions.

Ruby gritted her teeth. Despite being drugged and feeling floozy, anger and bitterness had never surged through her veins so powerfully before. Almost immediately, she was snarling at him, "You creep! You make me sick!"

"Creep?" He said, "I am protecting humans from vampires. Sullivan, hurry up and get her out of here."

"Yes, sir." Mary seized hold of Ruby even though she was practically trying to fling herself at the man with what little strength she could muster.

"No, let go of me!" Ruby screamed, biting and scratching at Mary, trying to throw her off, but to no avail. She kicked and flailed as Mary began shoving her out of the fire exit and into the car park, where a black van could be seen with its lights on. Ruby screamed, "Alucard! Help me!"

….

He sniffed the air.

Ruby's scent was slowly disappearing. The scoundrels were escaping with her! Alucard dropped the mangled body and left the bar entrance, racing down the corridor with his gun cocked, his heavy boots skimming off the floorboards. "_Alucard!_" She was screaming, "_Help me!_"

He was almost there.

"Stop right there!" It was another one of the humans wielding machine guns. Two of them, in fact. The flow of humans being sent to apprehend him didn't seem to stop; they just kept on coming, bursting out from the kitchen, or the bathroom or even the closet with their guns blazing, shooting at him mercilessly. Alucard dived for them as they pummelled bullets into him; he was unfazed by the onslaught and grabbed one man by the neck and shoulder. He pulled with little strength, as if he was ripping a piece of paper in half, and he tore off the head clean off the shoulders, ignoring the blood that splattered all over his front and all over the walls. He let go, watching the blood dribble down from the walls like a water fountain, before he averted his eyes to the limp body; it slumped to the ground, and he gazed at the ripped flesh and the yellowish-white spine bone that was dangling out from the ruptured stump.

The surviving human screamed as he witnessed the gory sight. "Holy fuck! Oh shit! _Oh my god! _Screw it! I didn't sign up for this!" He turned and ran as fast as he could further down the corridor without looking back. Alucard wasn't surprised. That's what they always did. He gave chase without further ado with a twisted grin on his face. Despite the truth behind this mission, the thrill of the hunt encouraged him, sent his adrenaline racing, made him feel _alive_.

Eventually, the fleeing human rounded the corner and Alucard followed suit, but he came to a stop when he spotted a man with an eyepatch standing just a few feet from him directly in the middle of the corridor. The fleeing human was nowhere to be seen; perhaps he had escaped already.

"So, vampire… have you killed enough of my men yet? Satisfied your bloodlust yet? Or do you want more?" said the eyepatch man, as he removed his pipe from his mouth and puffed out a whiff of smoke from his ears, mouth and nostrils.

Alucard raised an eyebrow, "And what are you meant to be, old man?" He questioned, his slant smirk widening. The man was old, but younger than Walter; his hair was brown but flecked with grey, slicked back with careful applied amounts of hairgel. He carried an air of grace and sophistication in his actions and the words he spoke, but nevertheless, none of that would help him against Alucard.

The man spoke again: "I am the owner of The Counting House, a bar for humans and vampires." He muttered, giving Alucard a bow, "My name is Victor Sloan."

Alucard grinned at him spitefully, "I am not interested in who you are. You have something that belongs to me. _Something very important_...and I want it back."

"Important, you say?" Sloan said, "Then you must be the one known as Alucard. I'm sorry, but she's already gone."

With a snarl, Alucard lunged for the man but he was pushed backwards as Sloan hurled a flurry of daggers towards him; he took the entire brunt of the attack – the knives slammed into him and impaled through him cleanly, the tip of the knives sticking out of his back. He gritted his teeth, drawing in a hiss, and grabbed the handle of one of the knives but flinched and retreated his hand away immediately. It was blessed. "What _are_ you meant to be? A vampire killer?" Alucard grunted out as he crouched down to rest on one knee, still with the knives embedded in him.

Sloan re-appeared in front of him, withdrawing a sword that was hidden within the length of his cane. "No, just someone who knows that when one decides to run a vampire bar, one must know the basics of how to protect themselves _from_ vampires. It is common sense, really."

Alucard responded with a sneer, "Then why didn't you teach your loyal employees how to bless armaments? Not that it would have made much of a difference…"

"As long as I survive, that's all that matters." Sloan replied, readying himself as he watched Alucard rise back up. He scowled at him, "I've dealt with persistent punks like you. You think you can just barge in here and kill and drink as much as you like. Leave this place if you value your damned life."

Yet all Alucard did was hold his arms out as if beckoning him, taunting.

Sloan was unimpressed. "Very well. I will show no mercy."

Alucard chuckled louder, and lifted up his gun, aiming it directly at Sloan. This human sure was one cocky bastard. He fired at Sloan but he dodged; he was surprisingly fast for his age. Sloan reared back up with his sword and swiped down; Alucard's hand holding the Casull dropped to the ground, and he stared at the stump. The old man had cut off his arm all the way to the elbow. Blood was pouring out of the fleshy wound like a fountain. Before Alucard could retaliate, Sloan slashed at his gut with a quick horizontal swipe and Alucard was rendered to his knees, just when Sloan delivered the finishing blow by bringing the sword down on the back of his neck, severing his head in one quick motion. The head rolled to the ground and Sloan closed his eyes, as if he was offering his condolences.

"Do not underestimate me, vampire." Sloan murmured, as he glanced down at his bloody sword, before he protruded out his pipe which he had stowed away into his pocket safely before the fight. He gave it a rub and cleaned it, then turned round to leave. But suddenly, there was an iron grip on his ankle and Sloan turned round – he was too late – Sloan stared in horror at the mass of black shadows gathering at the headless body where a few red eyes blinked back at him, forming the shape of a large dog. "What the – "

The mouth of the dog widened and an arm, replacing its tongue, slithered out, wielding the same silver gun he'd seen the vampire use. BLAM! Sloan screamed when a bullet rammed into his arm, making him drop his sword. While he was preoccupied with the sword clattering to the floor, he didn't notice the two daggers that were flying towards his direction. "I think I'll return these to you." The vampire's husky, deep voice hissed out, and the two daggers plunged into each of Sloan's palm, pinning him to the wall. "Do you fear death now?"

Sloan cried out, watching with trembling eyes as Alucard slowly manifested back in front of him. "W-What are you?" He was stricken with terror, unable to move. All the vampires he had come across before had never rejuvenated!

"Tell me, human. What is the purpose of this place?" Alucard said; Sloan glowered at him, refusing to speak, and he snickered in response. "You are aware that I can just take all the answers from you? You don't have to speak a word…" And he stepped closer, exposing his fangs.

Sloan gasped in horror, just as Alucard clamped his fangs down on his neck. His scream echoed in the empty bar. Before Sloan blacked out, a single thought ran through his mind:

_Joshua. I want to see Joshua again__…_

* * *

><p><strong>30 years ago.<strong>

"Dad, my neck hurts."

Sloan woke up in the middle of the night to see Joshua standing in the doorway of his room. He was rubbing at his neck.

"I think something bit me while I was sleeping."

"Bit you? Come over here, let me see." Sloan got up and switched on his lamp. Beside him, his wife was slowly stirring from her sleep.

"Hm? What's the matter? Josh? What's wrong, darling?"

"Mum, something bit me."

The teenage boy waddled up and stopped shortly in front of the pair in the king-sized bed. He removed his hand from his neck, revealing two small puncture holes. Sloan gazed at the wound while his wife blinked and tilted her head to the side.

It wasn't bleeding, nor did it seem infectious. They were just two little dots in his nape, like from a hole punch. "It's probably just a really nasty big bug, Josh. There's ointment for bug bites in the bathroom." Mum said. "It'll probably be healed in the morning, so go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

…..

Joshua had always been a good kid. He was 15 years old. He did well in school. He had friends. He had a few female admirers. He enjoyed skateboarding and football. He liked playing video games and reading books. A gentle, good kid. But, a few weeks later that following night, Sloan went out to the garage to look for his son. He'd heard some unsettling news.

"Joshua?"

"Yeah, dad?"

Joshua was busy polishing the wheels on his skateboard in the garage when his father approached him. Sloan said, "…The Campbell's just told me you killed their dog."

Immediately, the boy stopped in his endeavours and looked up. "W-What? I-I…I didn't do it, dad. It wasn't me."

"Josh, this isn't funny."

"Yeah, I know. It wasn't me. Why would I wanna kill their dog?"

"Their daughter said she saw you lurking around the field on Tuesday night with their dog and now she's gone and told everybody. Is it that boy at school? What was his name…oh, Brian. Yes, is it that kid? Is he bullying you? Is he forcing you to do some things you don't want to do? If we go to the headmaster, we can – "

"…No, dad. I'm not being bullied or forced by anybody." Joshua replied, turning away from his father.

Sloan gazed at the boy, as he continued wiping away grit and dirt from the wheels of his skateboard. "Josh, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Josh looked back up. "Yeah."

"Then tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth, dad."

Sloan gave him another scrutinising glance, but then sighed helplessly. "…..Okay, Josh, I believe you."

"Thanks, dad."

…

"There's something wrong with him." said mum, as she was washing the dishes one day. "He's gone all pale. He doesn't eat his food. He hates going out during the day…I don't understand what's wrong with him."

"That's normal; he's a teenager. They're supposed to hate their parents and think the world hates them."

Mum sighed, dipping her hands into the sink again. "No, it's not just that…It's been a few years, Victor, and Josh…well, he…he hasn't...well, grown."

Sloan put down his newspaper and removed his reading glasses, "Now hang on a minute, I'm sure we can – we can go see a doctor, or-or maybe it's just he's…you know, he's probably a…a…a late bloomer. You know, puberty and stuff."

As pathetic as it sounded, it was all Sloan could think of. Sloan and his wife had been arguing a lot these days. And Joshua had been quiet, reluctant to talk to either of his parents. The past few years, he'd been a bit of a recluse. His days were spent shut in his room, only emerging when it was evening, or night. He'd withdrawn into what Sloan believed was a rebellious phase of his life. But it was too bad his wife wasn't having any of their son's behaviour.

She shook her head, "It's been 5 years. FIVE YEARS. I've noticed, Victor - and I'm not going to ignore it! Josh…He-He hasn't…**grown**! He's been exactly the same! He should be what…twenty? Twenty one? He hasn't changed!"

"Stop it! He'll hear you!" Sloan shouted back, furious. There was a silence. He put his hand on the table, sighing. He had no idea what to do from now on. "We'll…we'll talk about this later. Please."

Yet Sloan's problems would only get worse.

…..

"Josh! What the hell are you doing?"

Sloan was running through the field; his wife had made him suspicious, and worried, to the extent that he had been following and spying on his son despite not believing the rumours, yet when he saw his son dragging a small dog along with him to the field, at midnight, he knew something was wrong. From his hiding spot behind the tall weeds and bushes, he sprang out and rugby-tackled Joshua before he could retaliate, and pulled his son away from the animal. But it was already dead, with a slit throat. The sight horrified him. "…What are you doing…?"

Joshua was trying to wipe at his mouth, "No, wait, dad, no – I – it's not what you think!" He yelled, but the damage was done, as Sloan pried his hands away from his mouth. He was covered in blood, the thick red fluid was spilling from the corner of his lips and dripping all over his chin.

Sloan stared.

At first, he didn't understand. The confusion was devastating. "What the hell are you doing?" Sloan raised a hand, as if he was going to slap the boy, but he managed to mentally stop himself in time when he saw Joshua wince in fear, bracing himself for the impact. "Drinking blood? What's going on in that mind of yours?"

Joshua slumped in his spot, helpless. "…I-I can't help it, dad."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean you can't help it?" Sloan stammered out, fearing the worst. "You…You like drinking blood?"

"No!" Josh exclaimed, "… I…I have to. Or…Or I'll have this…this urge like I want…want to drink from something else. Because…because of…**this**."

When Joshua showed him his fangs, Sloan stared again, but this time, in disbelief.

And suddenly, he was yelling, "No…NO!"

Vampires couldn't exist.

How could they? They were just mythological creatures. But here was Joshua, killing animals and sucking and drinking their blood, because he was too afraid to kill and drink from a human, terrified of what he had become, and what would happen to him now. Sloan had really considered that Joshua was lying, or maybe this was his form of a joke, but even this joke was too much, and Josh would never do such a thing.

"Please don't tell mum." Josh begged, with his fangs and his lips drenched in blood, and Victor was truly afraid for once. "…I can control it…I'm not dangerous or anything. See? T-This is why I…I mean…Don't think I'm a freak. I don't want to drink _human _blood."

"When did this happen?"

"Remember that day when I came into your room…and I told you something bit me? It was… a long time ago."

"And you've…you've been doing _this _all this time?"

Josh nodded.

What now?  
>Joshua was his <span>son<span>.

What was he supposed to do?

"…I trust you, Josh." Victor said, "I won't tell your mum. Let's just keep this between you and me. If you… if you ever feel as though you need to drink, then - "

Joshua smiled. "That's okay, dad. I got it under control."

…

_Dear Joshua, and Victor. I'm sorry, but I can't go through with it anymore. I love you both very much_.

That was what the letter said. Nothing else. She'd even withdrawn half of their savings in their joint account, and packed her bags, and drove out of the driveway in their only car. He found the closet upstairs empty of his wife's clothes, shoes and her other belongings. "…That's it?" Sloan muttered, as he put down the letter, just as Joshua entered the room; he did not hear him go in, instead, transfixed with the letter. The letter seemed to taunt him as it lay on the table. He slammed his fist on the table and kicked over a stool. "THAT'S IT? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

"Dad!"

Startled, Sloan turned round, breathing heavily. "Josh! I didn't hear you come in – I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's okay, dad." said Josh, "…Mum's gone, isn't she?"

He twitched. Yes, his wife had just left but he couldn't show Josh that he was distraught. "…Yes. It's just me and you now." Sloan said, cradling his head in his hands. He took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, "It'll be… Everything will be okay, alright? Don't worry. We'll be fine without her. Your old man's here for you. I don't know where we'll go after this, but… but I…I'll try and find a cure for you, okay?"

"Cure?" Joshua replied, "But dad, I don't think – "

"Don't start that with me again, Josh. I know there's a cure out there, and we'll find it." Sloan interrupted, but immediately, he felt bad for his outburst. He got up from his seat and brushed a hand through his hair, "Are you hungry? I'll go down to the butchers. You don't have to go hunting tonight. I'm sure they have something."

"…Alright. Thanks, dad."

Sloan placed his hand on his shoulder. "You're all I have now, Josh. Don't you leave me too."

Joshua looked up at him, and tried to smile.  
>No promises were made.<p>

….

Many years passed.

"…Dad?"

"Yes, Josh?"

"I'm sorry."

"What? Why are you apologising?"

"For everything. If I didn't…well, become like this, mum wouldn't have left. And you don't have to look after me. You should…I dunno, go and find someone. Go hang out with your friends. I don't wanna hold you down in life. I mean, you're always either going to the butchers to get blood for me or-or obsessively looking up information about vampires and stuff for the stupid cure and its taking over your life, I don't want you to - "

"Josh, don't say things like that. I'm going to cure you, okay?"

Joshua bit down on his lip. "What if you can't find a cure?"

Sloan inhaled a shaky breath.  
>The truth was, he didn't know.<p>

Josh mumbled out, "I'll be like this forever."  
>He added, "You have to move on, dad."<p>

Sloan was clearly getting older and Joshua was clearly not. Being unable to age, Joshua had to keep a low profile. They'd had to move to hundreds of cities and even considered moving to America, but that option would be a last resort. Nevertheless, Sloan had told Josh not to leave his side.

He wasn't afraid of growing old and dying alone, he was afraid for Joshua.

Yet one evening, Sloan returned from the butcher's with a fresh pack of blood only to find the house empty. He dumped the pack to the side immediately and looked around. He checked all rooms in the house; he found that Joshua's belongings were gone. It was exactly like the day his wife had left him because she couldn't put up with it anymore.

"Josh? Josh, where are you?" Sloan screamed. That stupid kid! Did he seriously think leaving his father like this was going to help? Did he seriously believe it would help him move on? "JOSHUA?"

He was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Without thinking twice, Sloan rushed over and picked it up. "Josh?" He yelled down the receiver.

"Hello, is this Victor Sloan?"

The disappointment to hear an unfamiliar voice was overwhelming. Sloan considered hanging up. "…Who is this?"

"My name is not important. What's important is that son of yours. He's a vampire, isn't he?" said the voice, and the phone slid out of Sloan's hand immediately, dangling by the coiled phone line. "Hello? Hello?"

Sloan bent back down to pick it up, his hand was trembling. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" He uttered out; he had to protect his son. No matter what.

"The truth is, Mr Sloan. We've been watching you. We know you've been struggling. And I want you to know, I have a cure."

Silence.

"Did you hear me, Mr Sloan? I said I have a **cure**."

Sloan couldn't believe it. "…What…cure?"

"There is a cure to vampirism, but I'm afraid you'll have to earn it. You see, it costs a lot of money, and I can't just give it away to ANYONE."

Sloan felt his heart pacing.  
>A cure?<p>

But Josh was already gone.

No.  
>No, no, no.<p>

Even if Josh was gone, he had to get this cure.  
>He'd find Josh, and he'll get the cure, no matter how much it cost.<p>

"Are you willing to do anything for it?"

_Willing to do anything? _"Yes, even if it costs me my life!" Sloan barked.

"Hm. I see. Very good, Mr Sloan, very good. Let's meet up in person, shall we? I can tell you more about it then. Maybe I'll even show it to you."

"Wait – how much will this cure cost?" He asked. The man on the other end of the line told him the figure. When he heard it, Sloan couldn't believe his ears. "What? That's…That price is impossible! How will I - "

The voice on the other end of the line chuckled, "Then, Mr Sloan, I can only suggest that you get... _creative_."

* * *

><p>He stopped drinking; Alucard let go of Sloan and removed the daggers that were thrust into his palms. He dropped to the ground, twitching and convulsing weakly. Clutching at his crushed neck while rasping and gurgling helplessly, Sloan stared up at Alucard as the vampire knelt down beside him. "Did you find your son?"<p>

Sloan looked down glumly. This was his final moments; being killed by a vampire? Yes, he had believed this was inevitable. He raised his gaze back up to the vampire, and shook his head.

"It's been at least thirty years."

"Yes, I know."

"And you haven't given up?"

"I believe he is still out there." Sloan replied, before squinting his eyes at Alucard, "Who are you? You are a vampire, but you came here, not to be served, not for the blood."

Alucard laughed loudly, but did not reply. "You have an intriguing history, human." He said, still doubling over with mirthless laughter, as Sloan lay in a pool of his own blood, which Alucard was slowly starting to lap up the rest with his tongue. "But you have been deceived. There is no cure."

Sloan stared up at him with widened eyes. "…No cure?"

"The only cure… is death! If you wish to cure your son, to end his suffering and his pain, then you should drive a stake through his heart, shoot him with a silver bullet, or decapitate him!"

"N-No! I can't… I won't! Y-You liar!" He roared viciously, "You lie!"

Sloan watched helplessly as Alucard stepped over him, still chuckling humorously as he manoeuvred towards the fire exit; a certain bride of his still needed to be rescued. "You have been blinded by your pursuit of the so-called cure that you have wasted your years, and for what? You are a wretched man with dreams, Sloan, but tonight, I have taken everything away from you! You have nothing!" Alucard said, the smirk on his face widened to a considerable extent. "Instead of dedicating yourself in earning money for a non-existent cure, you should have been looking for your son. Then perhaps…you need not die so miserably tonight."

* * *

><p>Sorry there were no Alucard x Ruby in this chapter. I wanted to bring a bit more to this story aside from the whole mate thing; so this was a little side story. If you are confused –<p>

A man named Victor Sloan, had a son (Joshua) who was bitten by a vampire when he was 15 (this was 30 years ago prior to the story). At first, Joshua satiates his bloodlust by killing animals and drinking their blood. A few years pass and Joshua doesn't seem to age. Eventually, he is caught by Victor who witnesses him drinking blood and finds out he is a vampire. They keep it a secret from the mom, who eventually leaves because she cannot cope with Joshua's not-aging thing. Victor and Joshua move around together for years and keep a low profile; Victor is motivated to find a cure for Joshua until Joshua decides to leave because he feels he is dragging down his father in life. On the same day upon Joshua's disappearance, Victor receives a phonecall from a mysterious man who tells him he has a cure but it will cost him a lot of money and to earn that money he must get 'creative' (ie, this prompted him to start up the vampire bar).


	9. You Murderer

_You Murderer_

It had started to rain.

Ruby felt the wheels of the van go over another bump; she'd been piled on top of other semi-conscious girls from the bar like sacks; another girl was piled over her too. She could hear the rain battering the sides of the van as the van sped through the night. Her breathing was shallow, as she lay helpless, but she lifted her head up slightly to look up at the driver, look at the screen wipers, following their hypnotic gliding over the windscreen. She could hear the radio, but the voices were just eerie whispers and murmurs. The van felt cramped and a burnt, bitter smell lingered in the atmosphere. Mary sat on one of the unoccupied spaces of the van with them, keeping them still and lifting them back up whenever they would fall out of their positions.

"…A…Alucard…" Ruby muttered out deliriously, "…Alucard…"

Where was she being taken to? And where was Alucard? The fact that she was being kidnapped and taken away to some unknown location, perhaps never to see her parents or friends ever again scared her and she sniffled meekly. Maybe she'd never see Alucard again, either.

However, the van gradually came to a slow stop. The radio was still blaring; he revved the engine and twisted the key but the car continued to stall. They had stopped in a lone road, outside the motorway. Mary got up and out of her seat, half standing, half-squatting in the cramped space, careful not to hit her head on the ceiling of the van, "What happened? Why has the van stopped?"

Her question was answered when he tried to start the van. The engine chugged but nothing happened.

The driver turned away from the wheel to her, "I don't know. Stay here, I'm going to go out and check the – " He was interrupted when something landed on the roof of the van, rocking the vehicle from side to side."What was that?"

Footsteps could be heard on the roof of the van; they were heavy and weighted, and suddenly, a hand smashed through the window, grabbing the man by the neck. Screaming, he was dragged out and onto the roof in seconds, kicking and flailing. There was the sound of bones snapping and something like fabric tearing, and blood began leaking down the roof of the van, dripping down all the windows.

Mary gasped, watching the windscreen wipers swish away at a flood of blood leaking down from the top, followed by what seemed to be a long, fleshy ribbon of intestines. There was a loud 'thump' and she screamed loudly, as the legless body of the driver was thrown on the windscreen, tumbling down and over the bonnet of the van before landing on the ground. There was another thump; this time, it was the legs, rolling. Still screaming, Mary unlocked the van door and ran out into the rain, stumbling slightly, and Ruby finally felt the whoosh of fresh air enter the van.

She slowly looked up, staring sluggishly at the darkness outside.

It was quiet.

She struggled, crawling out from the pile of other girls and towards the edge of the van. Eventually, she fell out, landing on the cold, wet road, blinking through fierce raindrops that were hailing on her. Her hair began to get wet and matted, her dress clinging to her cold skin. She looked around herself; the ground was mingled with rainwater dribbling down to the nearest manhole along with a thick, inky red substance.

The driver and Mary were nowhere to be seen, but a loud gunshot was enough to send shivers down Ruby's spine. Birds were also sent flying out of their trees.

A dark shadow swooped down on the ground and landed in front of her, before slowly rising to stand. Ruby looked up; she stared up at him as he loomed over her, his red eyes glowing in the darkness. He gazed down at her silently.

"…Alucard?"

He didn't reply but merely lowered himself back to the ground, even though he was getting wet at the same time. He reached out for her and wrapped his long coat around her, knowing all too well that she was watching him tentatively as he busied himself in covering at least every inch of her shivering body with his coat. Ruby looked around herself again, and sniffed. Her eyes suddenly went all wet and misty and she rubbed at the corner of her eyes, her mascara smudging and dribbling down her face. She sniffled louder and louder before she finally burst into tears, although the rain was drowning out her sobs. She didn't care why he was here - she was just relieved he_ was_ here.

"…W-What have you done?" She managed to stammer out as she dabbed at her eyes only for more mascara to be rubbed all over her cheeks.

But Alucard responded by lifting her face up to his before he pressed his lips over hers, his arms around her tightly. Her eyes widened, but she didn't push him off, even when he deepened the kiss. He finally drew away with a smirk, wiping away the lipstick that had come off her lips and onto his with the back of his hand even though the rain was already washing away the contact they just had. Ruby felt even more confused as she felt her lips tingling.

She tried again as he stroked her hair and nuzzled at her neck, "Alucard?"

Instead, he murmured something in her ear she did not understand. A foreign language. It must be his native tongue. Romanian? Compared to other vampires, he didn't scare her as much. Maybe it was because she was starting to get used to him even though they bickered and argued so much. She swallowed down before hesitating to return his embrace, her arms were shaking as she pondered whether they should encircle him or not as Alucard continued to clutch her like a much loved pet.

…_Yeah,_ Ruby thought, _I kinda missed you too._

…..

Ruby was taken back to Hellsing mansion.

The missing girls were recovered; the van, taken to forensics. The vampire bar was also stormed and closed off by Hellsing troops. The media flocked over like crazy even though they were not allowed in, nor vampires were mentioned, only that a freak accident killed all its employees, and its owners. But Alucard and Ruby had left the scene. She spent the car journey in Alucard's lap, dozing. He had his arm wrapped around her tightly and she felt his hand on her forehead, and when he withdrew, he was murmuring something to someone – possibly Integra - using the car's in-built phone. She didn't feel too good herself; her mind was still foggy and she was exhausted. This time, she was not blindfolded, not that she remembered the journey anyway. All she remembered was clinging onto Alucard and trying to get comfortable.

Eventually, the car grinded to a stop and Alucard lifted Ruby out of the car and strolled towards the entrance; she woke up. They reached the entrance and there stood Integra at the doorstep with Walter, waiting for them. When she laid her eyes on Ruby, she let out sigh and shook her head. "…Alucard, we need to discuss tonight's events. You needn't worry about the girl," She began, motioning them to follow her further into the mansion as Walter shut the door behind them. "Walter has a room prepared for her up the stairs. Have you contacted her family?"

"Nobody answered the phone, mi'lady." Walter replied. "…It _is _rather late."

"I see."

"Oh?" Alucard suddenly grinned at Integra, "Will you be letting her stay here then?"

"Yes, for a few days." Integra said, and then she narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't think so little of me, my servant; I am not an inhospitable person."

He chuckled, as Ruby slowly started to stir from her sleep. Eh? She saw Alucard; that wasn't surprising, since he found her, and rescued her. Then she caught a glimpse of Integra's ash-blonde swishing hair in front of her. Integra? Oh, that meant she must be in Hellsing mansion. Before they began to trek up the stairs, Ruby quickly reached over and gave a little tug on his cravat; he glanced down at her.

"…Actually, I'm alright." She muttered out groggily, rubbing at her eyes, "Can I…go to the meeting?"

Alucard raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you exhausted?"

She shook her head. "Please? I really want to find out what has happened."

With that, Alucard turned to Integra, who nodded after a few seconds. "…Very well. The meeting will be held in twenty five minutes. Stay in the room we have prepared for you for now."

"Thank you, Sir Integra."

They continued up the stairs; Alucard was taking one step slowly at a time. He seemed to be savouring the opportunity to hold her like this without her screaming or yelling or kicking as she usually would. Instead, she was merely blinking up at him inquisitively. Integra stopped outside a door and opened it, and Alucard stepped in. He carefully placed Ruby to sit onto the bed before pulling the covers over her.

"I'll leave you to it." Integra muttered, before she turned to Alucard. "Come with me for a quick word, Alucard."

"Yes, my master."

She departed the room, closing the door behind her with Alucard following her out.

Ruby continued to gawk at the door, wondering if Alucard would return, but she heard their footsteps going back downstairs. After five minutes passed, and no-one came in, she glanced around her room. Ruby had wanted to stay up for the meeting; she had been a part of the vampire bar incident and didn't want to be left out just because she was a victim.

Deciding to take a quick bath, she walked to the bathroom door and opened it, then marvelled the interior. The bathroom incorporated a bathtub, a jacuzzi in the corner and a walk-in shower. After a few seconds, she looked around suspiciously, then rapidly stripped herself of her clothes and leapt into the shower with the stained glass. "Ahhh…this is great…" Ruby sighed and closed her eyes, relaxing under the hot water; it was so soothing and calmed her nerves. She felt lazy and swayed a little on the spot; even if Alucard came in she might not even have the energy to yell at him and tell him to get out.

The Hellsing mansion was nice; like a hotel. Back at home, her bathtub had never been this big. Even the room she was provided with was big, bigger than your average bedroom but this was typical of large mansions like these to have everything super-sized. She felt privileged but also as if she was making things difficult for the director of Hellsing - Integra was too nice to her, too nice to guests - but she could understand why; Integra had a reputation to uphold and being unwelcoming wasn't one.

She reached over to the rack where a large assortment of body washes were for her taking, and stared at each label. Jasmine…Palmolive…aloe vera…lavender… even vanilla and strawberries… there was even…what the - Scent of _eucalyptus tree_? What the hell? She didn't know what an eucalyptus tree might smell like so avoided that one. Instead, Ruby opted for the pearl and rose extracts since it seemed so lavish and as soon as she was finished with her quick shower, she dried herself quickly with a large and fluffy towel and wrapped it around herself hastily. She stepped out of the bathroom, turning round to shut the door properly behind her.

From nowhere, she felt an arm snake around her waist and screamed at the top of her lungs only to realise it was -

Alucard.

"Well…I have to admit I don't find this surprising." She muttered, but she let out a squeak, flinching away when she felt his hands probing her body. He was feeling her up! Blushing profusely, she squirmed underneath his grip and tried to hobble away but he merely pulled her back into his arms. She glanced down at herself; at least the towel was firm and long and didn't seem bent on falling off her by the mere, slightest movement. "What are you doing?"

"I have finished speaking with my master so I came to get you." He purred in response, his hand delving under the rim of her towel before snaking up her bare leg; she shivered involuntarily when he pressed his nose against her hair. "…You smell exquisite."

She flushed in response.

"From now on," He added, "You are not to leave my side."

"Can you let go of me first?"

He ignored that comment for now. "…Mm, you're wet," He murmured silkily in her ear, "And _naked_."

She stiffened as his tongue slithered out and licked up her neck. "…What did you do to my clothes?"

The hand moved off her leg. "You mean these?" He lifted up her salvaged underwear and her pyjamas in his hand as she turned round, glaring up at him bitterly. Her jeans and sweater had been recovered from the bar and were now under Walter's cleaning care. They were standing so close to one another; certainly he could hear her heart pounding viciously; his chest was pressed against her that she had to back against the door of the bathroom; her bare legs could even feel the fabric of his coat.

"Yes. Give me those back."

Alucard smirked and turned away, to glance at her flimsy garments in his hand. He unfolded her vest and knickers and held them up, then scrutinised them with a grin. Black lace. Nice.

"Gimme back my clothes!"

To her horror, Alucard raised an eyebrow and folded her panties back again. "Try and take them from me."

Her face went from pink, to a deep shade of scarlet. But she did not even try as he had expected; instead, she pushed him off her, waddled to the large dresser beside the bathroom door and pulled open the top cupboard, hoping to find at least something she could use to put on. To her horror, it was empty. She tried the next cupboard. It was empty too. The last and final one was also empty. She roared in frustration; what was the whole point in this cupboard being here then? For show? Alucard laughed when she turned back to face him, glowering. But she merely folded her arms over her chest and leant on the cupboard.

"Alright, fine. Be that way. What do you want?" She said, "A kiss?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Hrm?" She had piqued his interest.

Swallowing down nervously, Ruby began to doubt what she had just said. _Oh shit why did I say that? No, it'll be like last time, and I know Alucard is one who keeps his word – hopefully. Er…No big deal_…_It-It's just a kiss. Nothing else. A kiss for clothes. What a dreadful bargain._ Silently hating herself, she didn't notice Alucard slinking closer to her.

Since she was offering, he wasn't going to say no.

Ruby looked up when she realised he was towering over her and she paled all over again. "N-No, wait! I'm not mentally prepared for – " She was cut off when he captured her lips with his; the kiss wasn't as harsh as she thought it would be. She thought he'd be all over her like a hungry wildebeest, but he was surprisingly gentle, passionate and controlled, slowly massaging his cold lips with hers. She swallowed down, as he intensified the kiss, goading her to respond. All she did was open her mouth slightly for breath and he took this cue to slip his tongue in, stroking her mouth hotly. He wanted to growl with pleasure; she was succumbing to him, and he smirked. He needed to get her used to this.

Her hand flew up to his chest, and she withdrew from him suddenly - even then he continued to plant soft kisses over the side of her face. "You have no heart beat." She said.

He took her hand and kissed it, rubbing at her palm, then he brushed a few wet strands of hair from her face and peered down at her, his red eyes gazing at her intently, "…Does it scare you?"

She hesitated, before she said, "I…I don't know." Ruby looked up at him, "I don't hate you."

Hm? And where was this coming from?

"Why didn't you – no, why aren't you yelling at me, Alucard? Why aren't you yelling and calling me an idiot for getting captured back there?" She murmured, "I shouldn't have come out tonight. You were right, but I didn't listen to you and I even said I hated you. If I listened to you then I wouldn't have had my blood sucked out by the machine and I wouldn't be stuck in that horrible itchy dress and - "

He stopped her by pressing his lips against hers once more. She talked too much. It was destroying the mood. Alucard backed her further against the cupboard, spreading her legs apart; she could feel the cloth of his trousers brushing against her legs and the handles of the dresser digging into her back, but she couldn't do much to push him off. His kisses began to grow more passionate, more desperate and soon, he averted his attention to her neck. He pushed her hair back and his arms enveloped around her, pressing her against him before he dipped down to ravish her neck. What did that mean? What did kissing her mean? Had he forgiven her? Or was he pretending nothing had happened?

Her mind turned to mush. She had never been kissed by anyone like _this_ before. Her hands were shaking; unsure whether to wrap around his neck or not. If she did, it meant she was finally consenting to him and she wasn't sure she was ready yet. Did it mean she was accepting the fact that she was his mate? Then what? Mate? What would happen? Would she eventually come out of this with some supersonic-supertonic vampire baby that would one day rule the world? She shuddered inwardly; no, Ruby didn't want that. She wasn't ready yet. She wasn't even sure she wanted this. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she liked him yet. There was still so much about him she wanted to find out first, and there was something about Alucard that always felt too good to be true, even when it came to him showing affection for her.

"…Put… your legs around my waist." He suddenly breathed out in between long and sensual, open-mouthed kisses; he had never been so crazed for a female before. She simply drove him wild. And now the damned towel was the only thing preventing him from exploring the rest of her body.

Ruby's eyes went wide for a split second. "What? _No_!" She shook her head again, even when he tried to make her wrap her legs around him, his hand gripping her thigh. She felt doused with cold water immediately, and she shoved him off her with all the strength she could muster – unfortunately, she only managed to hold him off at arm's length – and she glared bitterly at him. "I said NO."

There was a silence. She took this opportunity to pull the towel up over her a little higher while Alucard closed his eyes, the corner of his lips tugging upwards into a smirk. "…Yes, I suppose that's enough for tonight. Let us depart to my master's office. She dislikes it when one is not on time."

She gawped at him wide-eyed. Had he said such thing? Apparently, he did. He surprised her to no end. Without another word he re-adjusted his cravat which had somehow being tugged down to some extent and turned his head to the side, his raven locks falling over one eye. Then, he gave her his hand.

"I will be leading the way," Alucard said, "I would not want the kitten to get lost."

**Later.**

"What?" Integra barked, "The bar has been _destroyed_?"

"Yessir," said the fuzzy voice, buzzing through the speaker, "We were preparing to examine the area when it just blew up."

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Just a few minor injuries, nothing serious."

"Very well. Continue on with your investigations."

"Roger."

The room fell silent.

"Well, you heard what has happened." muttered Integra, before she suddenly slammed her clenched fist over the table, making papers flying and one of the blessed knives they had recovered rattle on the surface. Ruby flinched slightly but Seras and Walter merely stood stiffly in their spots. "The vampire bar has been destroyed by an outsider. Do you know what this means, Alucard? Seras? Walter? Miss Ashcroft?"

Whilst Walter and Seras nodded, Ruby shook her head. She was sitting beside Alucard, her hand clenched in his tightly; he had grabbed it from under the table and was now stroking his thumb over the back of her palm affectionately. She didn't want to pull away since they were sitting so close to Integra and she didn't want to embarrass herself.

"Hellsing is not doing their job properly!" Integra roared out, "Humans have begun doing the unspeakable… Kidnapping women and selling their blood to vampires… this simply cannot be allowed! Yes, it may prevent and reduce vampire attacks! Yes, it may even be considered an alternative if the vampire outbreak cannot be stopped and the vampire population continues to increase, but…" She calmly slid her gaze back to the laptop screen, then sighed and closed her eyes. "As loyal servants to Her Majesty the Queen, we swore our allegiance in protecting the country… this is humiliation far beyond imagination." She said, "…My servant, your work rate is to be doubled. No, tripled! From now on, I want you to _search and destroy_!"

Alucard gazed back at Integra and smirked, "Yes, my master."

"And this was recovered from the scene of the crime?" She held up one of Sloan's blessed daggers that was still encrusted in Alucard's dried blood. Integra stared at in disdain as she inspected it closely. "It's been blessed."

"Yes, I noticed." Alucard replied, rubbing at his chest where it had impaled him.

"I don't find it strange it was blessed," said Integra, "My ancestors were not the only vampire hunters, nor were they the only ones to have practised holy magic. Since the bar appeared to be run by humans, I'm not surprised they investigated everything about vampires and discovered how to protect themselves from them in case something went wrong."

"So…what about the dagger itself?" Seras asked.

Integra turned the knife around and back, running her fingers over the handle and blade. "What is curious about this is the symbol engraved on the handle," She added, before she handed the dagger to Alucard, who let go of Ruby's hand to accept it. "Do you recognise it?"

The vampire stared down at the lightweight blade in his hands, his eyes narrowing at the small symbol on the handle. It was round and featured a dragon on it, carved scrupulously by a skilled artisan, no doubt. Alucard shook his head before handing it to Ruby. She wasn't so sure why he did, as she held it in her hands, blinking numbly into space. _What do I do with this?_ She thought to herself. Her thoughts were answered when Walter scooped the sword from her and returned it to Integra.

"A visit to the archives may refresh my memory." The vampire suggested, with a lean shrug of his broad shoulders.

Almost at once, Integra slid open one of the cupboards of her desk and protruded out a set of keys, "Very well." She handed them to Alucard. "Take these. I will report to Her Majesty the Queen about this - from our operation, only ten girls have been recovered. Six did not survive. The numbers of missing persons do not match."

"There's more vampire bars?" Seras asked, but Integra merely shook her head.

"We cannot confirm that."

"And what of Victor Sloan?" Alucard said.

The director clasped her hands together and murmured, "…He was a misguided man. From what you told me, Alucard, when you drank from him, he was a victim nonetheless. He refused to face the truth, and his obsession in finding a 'cure' for his son drove him to madness and complete abandonment of his humanity."

"He told me he was protecting humans from vampires…" Ruby mumbled out.

Integra subsequently turned to Ruby and said, "Yes, he thought he was, but his bad deeds outweigh the good. He kidnapped women all across the country and endangered their lives by selling their blood and themselves to vampires. He deserved his fate." She took note of Ruby's sullen expression. "…But I know, that there are always two sides to the story, Miss Ashcroft. Hellsing has very good men dedicating their lives to serve us, but unfortunately, it seems that sometimes… tragedies elude our watchful eye over the general public."

Ruby watched Integra intently.

She rubbed at her temples, "What happened to Victor Sloan and his son… is our responsibility." She must be referring to the fact that Sloan's son was bitten by a vampire so many years ago and nobody knew about it, nor did anyone help them; Hellsing never appeared to them. Maybe it went to show, not everyone was fortunate. The room fell silent following Integra's comment.

"…Why children?" It was Ruby. Seras and Walter turned to her. She was glancing at her lap, her eyes hidden by her bangs. Even Alucard was gazing at her intently. He let go of her hand; she was trembling. "He was 15, right? He'll never be able to grow up, and go into college or university… get a proper job, have kids…"

"Compared to adults, children are easier to prey on."

"Because they're smaller and weaker and can't fight back?" Ruby said, before she stood back up in her seat. She opened her mouth as to say something, but she didn't have to. It was written all over her face. The anger, the disgust, the sadness, the pity. Ruby hurried out of the room after murmuring a quick apology.

Integra sighed once more, then turned to address Alucard, "Go after her. And remember, my servant,_ be subtle_."

…..

Outside, Ruby stood dejectedly by herself, pondering about her own outburst. She didn't know what this feeling was called. She didn't know Sloan, or his son, but somehow, she felt an immense amount of pity and grief for them. She felt like crying. A part of her wanted to go back in and apologise to Integra and then sit back down so the meeting could go on. However, when she saw Alucard appearing beside her as he drifted through the wall, she stiffened and quickly dabbed at her eyes.

"What is it?" She mumbled, "I want to be alone."

"Do you wish to…talk?" Alucard began; for once, he sounded hesitant about his words, as if he was choosing wisely.

Ruby whipped back round to him; her eyes were slightly red and watery. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but then she turned away. "No."

Before she could another step away from him, he seized her hand, and dragged her back to him, their noses touching. He growled out, "I can ease some of your qualms. You may ask me whatever you like."

"Some questions are better left unanswered, Alucard." Without another word, she tugged herself free from his grip, and stormed back towards the direction of her room silently.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"_The body identified as one of the missing women, Mary Sullivan, was found on the M423 highway_…"

A young man was sitting down on a black leather swivel chair in front of a desk that was made entirely out of glass, rifling through a finance magazine. A laptop displaying the 24 hour BBC news channel on screen was sitting on the desk surface amongst several documents, a cup of cold coffee and a pack of test tubes containing viscous, crimson liquid. There was a knock on the door. "Come in." He said.

The door to his office opened and another man in a black suit entered, his shiny leather shoes squeaking off the polished floor. "Caelum, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What is it?" said Caelum, without glancing up at his colleague, gazing intently at the glossy pages.

"Victor Sloan has been killed."

He rolled his eerie, blood-red eyes and yawned. "Whatever. He served his purpose well. Guess he won't be needing this anymore – " Caelum picked up the rack with the testubes containing the strange fluid and threw it into the wastepaper basket under his desk. " – What a shame; he was so close, too."

"He was killed by Alucard."

"Alucard?" Caelum put down the magazine abruptly and spun round in his chair to face him fully. "_What_? How could this have happened?"

"Sloan was careless and revealed himself." The subordinate said, "I have already activated the self-destruct. But what should we do, sir? Hellsing might find us. Should we prepare to depart?"

Caelum's eyebrows furrowed angrily. He swivelled back round to stare outside the window, behind his desk, gazing at the dark silhouettes and faint white glow of light emitting from office windows of the neighbouring skyscrapers. "No. The tournament will be held in a few weeks and I'm not going to postpone it."

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

I introduce to you a new cast member of Oh My Alucard - Caelum! He is the actual baddie of this story. I pronounce it as 'Kay-lum' but it's up to you how you pronounce it.

I also like to add extra to stories which hopefully engages the reader to think about things, instead of writing just romance where an OC gets together with a canon character and they live happily ever after. The first was about the money, whether Ruby should've accepted it or not, and then there was Sloan, who believed he was protecting humans but at the same time, was kidnapping people.

I would like you to think more about the characters, their background, and in the future when I introduce new characters, to also have the same reflection.

Aside from that, thank you very much for reading. It has been a pleasure writing for you and there will be more to come!


	10. The Fourth Bride

_The Fourth Bride_

Ruby woke up with a start, gasping heavily for breath.

She had that dream again.

The red eyes. The red eyes that kept following her, and at one point, she believed it was Alucard, since the dreams halted when she met him, until now. Maybe there was something wrong. The dream was more vivid and this time...she heard it whispering something incoherently.

…_Maybe I should tell someone?_

But they were just dreams. Nothing else, really. Besides...dreams didn't have to make sense. She groaned and collapsed over the mattress, burying her face into the pillow. She felt a little better compared to last night and glanced over to her bedside where she spotted a note by her bed, handwritten by Walter. Brunch would be served at twelve, the note said. _Come to the dining hall on the second floor. _She was remotely surprised to see that Alucard wasn't to be seen anywhere in her room; she expected him to make unannounced appearances now and then but she had thought wrong. She sighed and then looked around groggily. Now that she was feeling much better, she was ravenous - and feeling slightly warmer than usual, she pulled the nightshirt off her and left herself in her vest when she felt a presence and turned to her right where she saw Alucard, sitting by her bedside, watching her intently.

"EEEEK!" She shrieked, before she calmed down and covered herself with the shirt. Glaring at him as he stood up whilst grinning, she stuttered out, "What the – when did you – what? Oh, never mind. I should've expected this."

He chuckled, "These are for you, on behalf of my master." As he protruded out a Hellsing uniform, she quickly draped the shirt over her but didn't bother to slot her arms through the sleeves and took the uniform off him.

"Really? This…uh…jumpsuit?"

"Yes. This isn't a clothes store, my bride. You take what you are given."

She knew that already, but gave him a look and said nothing. She unfurled the uniform. It was the same one Seras wore – it was mustard yellow, consisting of a button-up t-shirt and short skirt and belt. Even a pair of white knee-over stockings were provided. Ruby sighed a little. "I'll get weird looks on the bus if I wear this." She had an odd image of herself, standing in the middle of a busy bus, cringing in the Hellsing jumpsuit, holding onto one of the circular handles that dangled from the ceiling while everyone stared and pointed at her.

"You won't need to fetch public transport. You will be staying here for a few days. My master thinks it would be best you stayed here to recuperate."

"…Then… when I go home – "

"I will be escorting you back home." His lips drew upwards into a smirk. "Due to your… uncanny ability to draw bad luck, my master also thought it might be wise if you had some form of protection. Should you happen to be captured by… for example, a vampire _motorcycle_ gang."

She gasped. "Don't say that."

He smirked in response. "If there is nothing else you require, I will take my leave." Alucard dissolved back with the shadows, leaving Ruby alone - to her surprise. He had been surprising her a lot. He had left her _alone_ – and he hadn't been difficult about it. It didn't need screaming or kicking or having to sacrifice self-dignity. It was the same thing yesterday, too. She told him to back off and he did. What gives? Nevertheless, Ruby took this fruitful time to dive under the covers to get changed. As soon as Ruby got changed, she brushed her hair and tied it into a high ponytail, then stepped out of her room in the Hellsing uniform, with the stockings and the military-style black boots and gloves given. _This feels so weird_, she thought, pulling and tugging at the skirt. As she stalked down the corridor, she heard a door opening from down the corridor and -

"Good afternoon, Miss Ashcroft."

She looked up. "M-Mr Dornez!" She didn't even see him, but there he was, suddenly standing in front of her with a wicker basket of ironed shirts and suits and cravats.

"Did you receive my note?" He enquired, "Sir Integra wishes to provide the utmost care for any guests we have in the mansion. To help you get your strength back, we have prepared some brunch for you."

Ruby held her gloved hands up and shook them, smiling awkwardly back at the old man, "O-Oh, that's very kind of you, but…I've used up quite a lot of your time, and I don't want to be a burden…"

"_Nonsense. You are my guest_." It was Integra. She strolled into the hallway with a cigar in hand. As soon as she saw Ruby in the Hellsing uniform, her lips tugged upwards into a thin smile. She said, "Come along, Miss Ashcroft, we still have much to discuss."

"We do?"

Integra nodded, and Ruby nodded back in response, accompanied with a nervous response of 'okay'. The trio continued down the corridor until Walter opened a set of random doors and allowed Ruby to step in first. Integra followed, and Walter then entered, shutting the door behind him.

The room was very bright and large, with a large rectangular table in the middle and five seats. Ruby's eyes sparkled by the amount of food displayed on the table, until she caught sight of Alucard already seated at the far end. Her appetite disappeared immediately. _Oh great, what's he doing here? I heard he doesn't even eat. _Nope, all he had was an empty plate in front of him, clean cutlery and a wine glass with a bottle of red wine standing stiffly by its lonesome.

Integra moved to sit at the only seat at the top of the table. "Help yourself."

Ruby swallowed down and nodded meekly before waddling to find a seat. The table was huge. Integra looked a bit like a dot in Ruby's vision. She would probably have a hard time hearing her, too. Ruby then caught sight of Seras sitting close to where Integra was, but far from Alucard. Seras waved at her and she took a step forwards to the draculina who was sipping at a pouch of blood that was attached with a straw.

Meanwhile, Alucard glanced over at Ruby, eyeing her from head to toe. Then, he got out of his seat and went to the one beside him, before lifting out the chair. Ruby stopped and blinked at his gesture.

He wanted her to sit there.  
>Beside him.<p>

All hairs rose up at the back of her neck once more at this point. She gulped, having the instinct to decline and sit somewhere far, but she felt as though she would come across as rude and obnoxious if she refused his rather gentlemanly offer. Besides, Integra was here. So was Walter. And Seras. She had the strong urge to impress them and not make herself come across as bad-mannered.

Thus, she walked over stiffly and plopped down on the seat as he tucked the chair in. "…Thank you." She said, and he smirked. It was how her parents raised her. Always say 'thank you' and 'you're welcome'.

"The uniform suits you very well. I am pleased." He murmured in her ear. Pleased? Pleased with what?

She tugged and pulled at the skirt. When she sat down, it seemed to ride up even higher! "…It's a bit on the short side…" She mumbled, pulling and tugged at the sleeves and collar. _Whoa. Stop. Why am I moaning to a MAN about clothes?_ The first person she should've went to was Seras who seemed to wear this 24/7 and didn't seem to have any problems.

Alucard returned to his seat and slinked close to her. Walter's voice brought her attention away from Alucard, however, "And would you like coffee or tea, Miss Ashcroft?" He was holding a teapot in one hand, and a thermal flask in another.

"Um, tea, please." Ruby said, smiling up at Walter as he poured her out a cup. "Thank you, Walter."

"You are very welcome, Miss Ashcroft."

Just as Walter returned towards Integra's side, Ruby lamented how awesome it would be to have a talented and courteous butler by your side. Without waiting any longer, Ruby began to make up an extravagant breakfast for herself as soon as she saw Integra beginning to make a start on her own plate. Ruby grabbed a bowl of freshly peeled assorted fruit, a few slices of triangular-sliced white toast and buttered them, then reached over for a jug of orange juice and poured herself a cup.

"My, my, you certainly do eat a lot." He commented, watching her pile pieces of toast up on her plate.

"I'm a nurse. I need lots of energy to keep going. It's also very stressful."

"Indeed."

Under the table, Alucard's hand mischievously landed on her thigh and she jumped back in her seat upon sensing the contact, a blush spreading over her cheeks in seconds. She also dropped her buttering knife in process, earning herself a look from Integra, Walter and Seras as it clattered loudly over the table.

"…S-Sorry." She quickly scooped it up, flushing.

Seeing her so surprised and flustered from his actions amused him, and he let his fingertips slide under the fabric of the rim of her stocking, caressing in long, languid strokes. "Enjoying yourself, my bride?"

"_Hands off!_" She hissed, but he wasn't looking at her, concentrating on Integra who had wanted to discuss some things during breakfast. She tried to shove his hand away but it didn't help.

"Is something wrong, Miss Ashcroft?" Integra asked, just as she gracefully sliced at a piece of egg on her plate with a knife and fork. How could anyone look so cool whilst eating an egg? And it was JUST an egg, too.

"N…Nuthin'…" Ruby mumbled out, while Alucard merely smirked. With Alucard stroking her thigh under the table, it was hard to keep a straight face while Integra was talking. Ruby didn't hear it all. It something about how she would like Ruby to co-operate with them a little more regarding the vampire bar incident. Ruby just nodded, her face hot and flushed as Alucard began to trace little lazy circles near her inner thigh with his finger.

"Ruby?"

It was Seras. A drip of sweat dribbled down Ruby's forehead as she turned to her. With Alucard's hand now creeping under her skirt and reaching towards the rim of her panties, she squeaked out, "Yeah?"

"…Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes, I-I'm fine."

Seras gave them a weird look while Integra threw Alucard a frown but said nothing when he merely returned another well-aimed smirk to her direction. Finally, he withdrew his hand out from under Ruby's skirt and replaced it back on the table.

"Are you done?(!)" Ruby barked at him angrily, but not too loudly in case Integra or Seras heard from all the way from their seats. But he merely grinned at her smugly and gave her a brief nod of his head, before reaching for his wine glass. "Urgh. I knew sitting beside you was a big mistake."

He laughed. "You can deny it all you want but I know you enjoyed it. The look on your face betrayed your words, my bride."

She cursed him under her breath as she quickly emptied some cereal flakes into her bowl while Alucard merely watched her with intrigue. "…Why are you even here if you don't eat?" She enquired, silently wishing he wouldn't stare at her as she ate.

"I like to observe. All humans have interesting eating habits. Vampires do not."

"Hm." She snorted at the thought of vampires being messy eaters as she rammed a piece of buttered toast into her mouth, crunching noisily. "So what's my eating habit?"

"You like to chew using the left side of your mouth." He said, "But you should eat with your mouth closed."

She raised an eyebrow, and shrugged inwardly, comprehending that she would never understand the mechanics of Alucard, before reaching over for her glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. He lifted his wine glass and drunk a few long sips before replacing it back on the table. She had been watching him secretly from the corner of his eye, making sure he wasn't up to no good. Ruby then looked at the wine brand briefly. She had never heard of it before. "…Hey, Alucard?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

She pointed meekly at the wine bottle. "…What kind of wine is that?"

"It's from Nuit-St-Georges."

"Uh… where's that?"

"France. Do you know where that is?" He said, with a teasing grin.

She frowned sourly at him. "_Yes. _For a matter of fact, I do_._" She barked, but then her attention averted to the bottle. "…Can I try some?"

Alucard looked at her in slight surprise. "If you wish."

She brought the bottle over to her side, emptied some into an empty glass and sniffed it although it didn't help because of her blocked nose. Her parents often drank wine during their days off and when Ruby was of age, they'd made her enjoy a glass of red wine occasionally.

She took a curious sip before – "_PPPPFFFFTTTTTT_!" Coughing and spluttering, Ruby spat it out, realising it was blood. Still coughing and snorting like no other, she blinked at herself stupidly, wondering how she could not even think twice that the chances of it being blood and not actually wine was 99.9 per cent likely. She sat in her seat, feeling extremely foolish and ashamed of herself. Wiping at her mouth, she looked up to see Integra watching her stoically, Seras was blinking at her numbly, while Walter merely chuckled. And Alucard let out a roar of insane laughter and she cringed once more, the glass shaking in her grip.

Ruby felt sick, and as if it couldn't get any worse, Alucard gripped her chin with his fingers before licking off the rest of the blood on her cheek.

"That's quite enough!" Integra slammed both her palms on the table and Seras jolted up, startled. So did Ruby, who stopped trying to strangle Alucard for the moment, yet Alucard continued licking teasingly at her cheek. However, he swerved his gaze to Integra from the corner of his eye. Even Walter looked slightly surprised. "Miss Ashcroft, we'll have a talk about yesterday's events in greater detail later on in the evening. I apologise for my subordinate's…_behaviour_."

Integra shot Alucard a look. And if looks could kill, that would've been one of them.

…

After the most eventful and luxurious brunch she'd ever had in her entire life, Ruby offered to help Walter and Seras clean up. Integra left to investigate more about Sloan. Alucard went with her. Ruby was left to enjoy the cleaning-up session; the butler had a little silver trolley to cart off all the plates and dishes and cutlery from the dining room to the pantry where a dumbwaiter was linked to the kitchen downstairs and the one above. It took a few consecutive trips to get everything off the table but nevertheless, an exciting experience for Ruby.

"The hot wash is in the kitchen upstairs," said Walter, as he carefully instructed Ruby and Seras how to use the dumbwaiter. Not that Ruby was planning to stay here for the rest of her life, but she found the dumbwaiter intriguing. She had never seen something like it before. "You lift up the shutter here, place the dishes in, and close the shutter, then pull this lever – and up it goes."

"Oooooh." Seras and Ruby cooed in unison before they turned to each other and began conversing animatedly.

"So that's how it works."

"It's so strange!"

"Why's it called a dumbwaiter?"

"Good question, but I don't know."

"Well, that was the last of the dishes to be sent upstairs." Walter turned back to the two with a gentle smile on his old face, "Thank you very much for your generous co-operation today; Miss Seras, Miss Ruby." He turned to the blonde girl next, "Miss Seras, if I may suggest, why don't you give Miss Ruby a grand tour of the manor?"

"Yessir." Seras said, with a wide grin. "C'mon, Ruby, follow me."

"O-Okay." Ruby did as she was told, as Walter excused himself and went to attend to his other butler duties. She followed the blonde girl back out of the pantry and down the corridor. Her skirt kept riding up. She had to keep pulling it down. Occasionally, she gave a sideways glance to Seras as she began telling Ruby what rooms to go into and what rooms she could. They were roughly the same height. Seras was slightly taller. And she wore the Hellsing uniform nicer than Ruby, too.

Feeling slightly awkward, she looked around and tugged on one of Seras' puffy sleeves. "…Seras?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"When can I get my normal clothes back? This feels so weird."

"It looks really good on you!" Seras exclaimed, "Even Master thinks so."

"Master? You mean Alucard, right?"

"Yep."

She 'ughed' and scratched at her arm, "You know, I'll never take what that guy says to heart. He says things so freely. I can't take him seriously."

"But Master is always serious, Ruby."

"Well…besides grinning all the time, has Alucard ever shown any other facial expression? If he has, then perhaps I may take him a tad more seriously than I do now."

The blonde pondered for a moment. "Hmm. I'm not sure about that." Seras replied with a light shrug, "But I'm certain he gets angry when I mess up. He just doesn't show it. I don't think he likes to show emotion. But sometimes, I think, when he's alone in the basement, he – "

She was interrupted by a voice: "_What are you two up to_?"

"EEK!" Ruby and Seras shrieked at the same time and leapt slightly upon hearing the voice behind them. They turned round to see Alucard who was standing behind them.

"W-We weren't talking about you!" was the first thing Ruby blurted out before she slapped a hand over her mouth.

Alucard raised an eyebrow. This was typical. Question: what happens when you put two girls together who were roughly the same age? Answer: Gossip. He narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses and took Ruby's hand. She stared numbly at his large hand clamping over hers. "Come along, my bride." He began, "You too, Police Girl."

"Yes, master."

Ruby was surprised Seras did so without questioning his motive. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"To the archives. You two will be my loyal assistants this afternoon."

While Ruby went "_Eh_?", Seras uttered, "Are we going to look for more information about the Var?"

"The Var?" Ruby squeaked.

She twiddled her fingers together, "Um… vampire bar. Var, get it?" With that, Seras let out an awkward chuckle.

"Oh!"

Seras turned to Alucard, "Are we also going to research up on that dagger Sloan was using too?"

"Very good, Police Girl." Alucard said, without looking at either of them as he continued to drag Ruby down with him, with Seras at their heels. Ruby glanced up at Alucard again for answers. He said, "The archive is large, you see."

"Very large." Seras piped up.

"And we need as much as help as possible." Alucard finished.

Perhaps finishing each other sentences was something that could be only shared between a draculina and her master? Ruby felt a little jealous for more unknown reasons she herself didn't comprehend. Seras and Alucard seemed comfortable with each other enough. She wondered if she could have this relaxed and perhaps _friendly_ affiliation with Alucard. "Oh. Um. Okay."

Two floors up, they entered the archives; it was a large room with windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. There were bookshelves that were also straining all the way from the floor to the ceiling. A spiralling staircase in the middle of the library displayed that there was another floor with more bookshelves. Ruby went slightly dizzy as they stepped in. She sniffed the air and shuddered. "Old book smell," She grunted, as Alucard stalked past her. She didn't want to get a rash. She took note of a velvet, four-seater sofa in one corner facing a fireplace, with a matching armchair beside it. A mahogany table with a brass lamp and green lampshade stood proudly next it.

"Wow." Ruby breathed, as Alucard and Seras walked past her and further into the archive storage. They seemed to know what they were doing.

Standing beside the armchair was Walter, who bowed upon their entrance. "Master Alucard, Miss Seras, Miss Ruby. Sir Integra has requested I assist you in your investigation." Walter said, smiling as he checked his fob watch that was attached to a golden chain linked to his breastpocket of his waistcoat. "Unfortunately, I only have until 4pm. Sir Integra expects her afternoon tea roughly that hour."

"That's fine." Alucard said, grinning. "Did you remember to bring your reading monocle with you, old man?"

"Of course." Walter replied, as he swapped his monocle for the said reading monocle. It looked exactly the same as his other, usual monocle, but with a thicker, metallic frame, like a magnifying glass. "Shall we begin our search now?"

Together, they gathered at the table and Alucard unsheathed the dagger he had been carrying with him the entire journey that had been concealed under his coat, and placed it on the table. Following the dagger were three photocopies of the symbol in larger print, which he also placed down on the table. "This insignia here," he said, "This is what we are looking for."

Seras scratched at her chin, "It looks like a family heirloom. A coat of arms. It must belong to the ones who persuaded Sloan to start the bar."

Alucard added, "It should be in one of these tomes."

Ruby glanced around. There were at least fifty bookshelves here. Maybe more. Her eye twitched furiously. "You're kidding, right?" She said, sweating slightly, "We're supposed to go through ALL these books, just to look for this symbol? It'll take us…."

"Days? Years?" Alucard said, "Police Girl and I have all the time in the world. But an extra pair of hands wouldn't hurt."

Walter gave an amused chuckle while Ruby whimpered. The butler said, "We shall split ourselves into two groups. Miss Seras and I will look upstairs; Master Alucard and Miss Ruby will look downstairs."

Immediately, Seras and Walter began making their way up the stairs with their photocopies of the symbol whilst Ruby was left a stammering wreck. "W-Wait, why am I stuck with…oh never mind. Let's just get this over with..."

Alucard stalked past her, and he strode further into the library. "Let's go, Ruby."

Ruby rolled her imaginary sleeves up and trailed after him, "Alright..." _We're going to be down here. Alone. He better be on his best behaviour._ She slowly swerved her eyes to him as he strolled to a random bookshelf. _Look at his swagger. He's so tall and proud and he has such broad shoulders. I've never met someone who gives off such an arrogant vibe. It's not bad or anything… It's as if he doesn't care what people think of him. I guess this is what living for centuries does to you._

"What is it, my bride?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. He had caught her staring at him. She blushed and quickly looked away. "N-Nothing…but…I…I remembered I didn't say thanks. Thanks for saving me back there. Y-You know, back at the bar and the van, when I was….well, if it wasn't for you, I'd be… I don't know what would've happened to me if you hadn't come."

He stopped, and she blinked up at him, but then, he turned and took a step towards her. She swallowed down and stepped backwards in response. Eventually, he cornered her against one of the bookshelves, and she looked up at him nervously as soon as her back hit the shelf, making a few books drop off and flop on the floor. "W-What?"

"You probably would have become a vampire." Alucard murmured, as he leaned into her. She gulped and backed further against the shelf, as he pressed into her. He took a strand of her hair and lifted it to his lips, playing around with it with his fingers, "But I could not let that happen. I want first bite, that's why. I will be the one who will suck that delicious virgin blood from your neck…"

Ruby swallowed down, going slightly cross-eyed with him. "First bite?" She squeaked, "… And who was your first bite?"

He gazed at her; then he said, "…My first bride. She was my first victim."

She contemplated his carefully chosen word. _Victim_. He had called his bride a victim. It was then she realised Alucard hadn't actually drawn her blood whenever he bit her. And he had bit her about…twice? "…Why _haven't_ you turned me yet, Alucard? I'll...I'll be the fourth bride, right?"

"Yes. However..." He then lowered his voice to a quiet, hushed tone, "_Do you wish to live forever, Ruby_?"

She returned his stern gaze but then she quickly turned away from him. "N-No! I don't want to... I-I don't want to become a vampire! And why do you want my blood so badly anyway? If I'm…If I am your…er… mate, isn't that… enough?"

"It is a passage of rite." He merely replied, "The Passage of the Blood."

"And what does that mean?"

"We share blood. If you are to become my bride, you must drink from me as well."

She swallowed in a breath. _And who made up that rule? I haven't even thought twice if Alucard has been making this stuff up. I don't want Alucard biting my neck and sucking my blood and I don't want to drink blood either..._

He teased mercilessly at her, as if revelling in delight at the fact that her face seemed to have drained of colour, "Have I frightened you?"

"Oh please." She replied, a taut frown working its way on her face. As if she'd let him know he'd successfully terrified her. "Working in a hospital… putting up with Gwen… getting attacked by ghouls and being kidnapped to sell blood in a vampire bar…Nothing scares me now. Let's start looking through these books..."

**5 hours later.**

"I found it!"

It was Seras.

"Master! Mr Walter! Ruby! I found ittttt! And it didn't take years! That was quicker than I thought!" And Seras came bouncing down the stairs with Walter following suit, waving a dusty old tome in the air. Alucard nudged Ruby awake; she stopped snoring and drooling over a tome in her hands and wiped at her mouth before scrambling up to stand. They re-grouped at the table in the middle of the library, and Seras handed it to Alucard.

The girls had to stand up on tiptoe just to get a glimpse of the book as they stood on each of Alucard's side while Walter waited patiently. Ruby recognised the English words but didn't understand the symbols. The page also featured a black and white illustration of a circular symbol with a dragon it. The dragon only had one wing and a spitting tongue, surrounded by black flames.

"_May 19th. I have come across a peculiar tale like no other. During my travels across the First Ascent of the Riddora Vale, a valley adjacent of the Carpathian mountains, I heard from the locals about a village that live amongst a group of vampires who have attempted to co-exist peacefully with humans_. _The reason so is because they have dedicated the rest of their condemned lives to cultivating and harvesting blood and sharing it among their vampire peers rather than drinking the blood from their prey directly. The villagers told me, by utilising this 'bartering' approach…in exchange for the villager's supply of blood… these vampires have sworn to protect them from aggressive vampires that live in the Moldovian mountains. I have yet to prove the existence of such a tale_."

Almost at once, Alucard glanced away from the book to throw his head back and laugh hysterically. Ruby raised an eyebrow while Walter took the book off Alucard and inspected the text curiously himself, "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Vampires? Community? '_Harvesting_' blood? Protecting?" He was still laughing raucously, clutching at his chest as he doubled over. Ruby merely continued to stare at him.

Walter adjusted his monocle as he carefully read the tome. "…I see. This dagger contains a seal that belongs to a group of vampires who do not drink directly from humans… That makes sense why this was in a vampire bar."

Seras blinked as Alucard's laughing fit increased whilst Ruby pondered. _Can vampires co-exist with humans?_ _Is it… possible?_


	11. A Dream about Alucard

The start of this chapter is M-rated. Not because I am descriptive but because of the suggestive situations depicted (and throughout the entire story so far, actually). I wish fanfiction also had the genre sorting system like Luna. I'd put this under Adult Situations. My penname is **fish and chips** on Luna. here, I am Fish and Chipz (emphasis on the Z) because somebody stole my name when I was faffing around as Overlord of the Pies. HNNNNGHHH I WANT MY NAME BACK.

Anyway…My god I am one dirty bugger. I'm so sorry for tainting your minds with this story, fellow Hellsing fans. It seems like such a long time ago when I was writing about highschool and now my stories are...well, like this. Tip: Whatever you do in your writing life, please don't follow in my footsteps.

* * *

><p><em>A Dream about Alucard<em>

She groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

Ruby was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar small space with red velvet drapes surrounding her like a tent, decorated ostentatiously with what appeared to be pink lace and white satin and gold embroidery. There was an odd sensation in the atmosphere, something dangerous, forbidden, but almost… Nostalgic, almost as if she had been here before... nevertheless, she tried to sit up fervously in a bid to escape, only to feel a grip on her wrists and ankles that was holding her down. Stunned, Ruby glimpsed around, but she could see no-one.

"Sora…" An ethereal voice drifted throughout the chamber until a woman with long, flowing black hair suddenly appeared on her right – a woman she did not recognise. To her astonishment, she could not distinguish this strange woman's face properly, even when this woman bent down, and a sense of dread began to build up in her gut, as the woman murmured seductively in her ear, with a deep, teasing but gentle inflection akin to a siren's song, "El va fi aici."

_I don't understand what she's saying!_ Ruby panicked. Who was this woman? Ruby watched helplessly, struggling to free herself of her bindings when another woman materialised on her left, also holding her down by the wrist. This woman also had long dark hair, too, but Ruby could tell this woman was different. "Sora… E frumoasa...Ea poarta asemenea senina gratie, ea arata ca un inger. Ea este asa de nevinovat."

She heard them laughing, the melody rang in her ears, accompanied with a mirthless taste which Ruby did not quite understand. Finally, another woman appeared before her, this time… she was not dark-haired nor did she have great, raven-like eyes, but rather, a pale complexion and fair hair, and sparkling teal eyes. She withdrew her thin, sinewy hand, which had been on Ruby's leg, to rest under her chin, her fingers resting upon her cleft, as if delighting in watching Ruby's misery and expense as she lay confused and scared on the bed.

"...Da, stapinul nostru luate un fantezist pentru ea."

The trio of women turned to face her subsequently. "Dar nu iti inchipui stapanul nostru in schimbul?" They spoke in eerie unison, their voices powerful yet harmonising in deep undertones.

Unsure what to say, Ruby merely blinked numbly at them, and squeaked.

"Venit la noi…Vino cu noi. Te cauta aici. _Alaturi de noi_!"

Ruby opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Asteptam! Aici el vine!" They sprang from her, smiling wickedly at the end of the bed, staring at the drapes, which slowly drew apart, like curtains, and Ruby stared wide-eyed up at Alucard,. But he did not seem like Alucard. No, the essence and demeanour askewed to a completely different direction. He was not adorned in the red duster and charcoal suit and cravat which she had grown to become accustomed to, but in a black shirt and wine-red dress pants, his black hair long, untamed and wild. His eyes danced upon seeing her on his bed, restrained and left to do nothing but gawk at him upon his entrance.

"Domnul meu…" The women breathed out with admiring zeal, as Alucard held his arms out, beckoning, and they came to him with blissful gasps and shrill squeals.

Ruby watched wide-eyed, disliking this more and more, to the extent she had wanted to cry and throw her head away from the sight. But her mouth was clamped shut, subdued by whatever spell these ghastly women had her under, for she could not resist or speak out her disdain, even when Alucard stopped adoring his brides and turned to her.

"Ruby…" He eyed her beadily, red-eyes glinting mischievously as she finally met his gaze, "How nice of you to finally join us."

_Huh? Alucard's speaking in english?_ Ruby shook her head anxiously as he moved, now hovering above her on all fours. His brides jeered and shrieked, throwing themselves to the side and back as Alucard ran his hand down her face and to her neck and over her chest. It was if this was some crazy ritual. He brushed his nose over her temples and her eyelashes, as if teasing. _No, Alucard, no – ! Don't! Get away from me! Arghhh! NOOO DON'T COME NEAR ME ARGHHHH!_

"I sense reluctance." He murmured, as he kissed the contour of her mouth. She didn't respond except watch him silently, trembling as he ruthlessly plundered her lips with his own. Alucard did indeed seem different; he was far more sensual, regal… almost enticing. He pulled away to caress her bottom lip, and licked his mouth before he murmured, "But no matter… since it is my desire for you to become my bride…you have no say in this whatsoever."

He kissed her again before he tilted her head to the side.

He was getting ready.  
>To bite her.<p>

Ruby's breath shortened, and Alucard pulled back, as his fangs began to emerge, the pointed tips sprouting from his canines on both rows. She stared up at them in terror and braced herself for the worst. "… I must drink from you, Ruby…to complete our bond…" He threw his head down and -

"YAAAARGH!"

Ruby woke up. She was at Hellsing. No strange women surrounding her. No Alucard. It was all just a dream. But...

That was…  
>WRONG.<p>

On so many levels…

She glanced around her room before throwing her gaze to her lap, her cheeks still red and hot. Maybe she had been watching too many vampire movies. It had plagued her mind.

"What. The. HELLLLLLL?" She roared, "Holy shit…oh my…that was…_GAH_! What's wrong with me? I'm…I'm…what have I become? What…is this? Unngh, I feel so dirty. I-I need a bath… I need to wash it all off…y-yes, that's a good idea…wash it all away…th-that was… That was just ODD and-and…Oh god stop talking about it."

She cradled her face in her hands, groaning, then slowly turned round – to see Alucard, who had been watching her tentatively from the right the entire time. This time, he had also taken the liberty to seat himself upon her bed, lying on his side.

"Do you always talk to yourself in the morning like this, my bride?" He said.

"Eep!" She made a funny noise. At first, she merely stared at him, but then she scrabbled to the far side of the bed away from him, watching him with widened eyes. "W-What are you doing here?" She stuttered out nervously, before grabbing the covers and clutching them tightly to herself.

"I always watch you sleep." He replied, before his lips flattened into a devilish grin. "You were dreaming about me."

"I-I-I wasn't!"

Alucard slowly lifted himself on her bed to crawl over to her predatorily that she inched away hastily until she reached the edge of the bed. "You were screaming my name out."

She rasped and choked before shaking her head furiously.

"What was I doing to you?"

Ruby blushed even more. "N-Nothing! We were just...uh...ah. Oh."

He chuckled as she stumbled and stammered, her face heating up like crazy. Alucard reached a hand for her and she flinched, until he pulled her into him, into his lap. She blinked and tried to wriggle away from his grasp but to no avail, and merely slumped against him, unsure what to do at this exact moment.

The...dream, it had been far too vivid. Too real. Everything Ruby did in the dream, felt too real also. Even Alucard felt real. It scared her. She shivered and wiped at her lips where he had kissed her in the dream. It lingered, tingling, as if to never go away unless he willed it. Ruby gritted her teeth, although a worrying expression spread over her face as she nervously nibbled down on her bottom lip.

Needless to say, Ruby didn't think she would ever be able to look at him in the eye anymore. And when she did manage to level his gaze, the dream crept up and she remembered everything; she became slightly misty-eyed, her eyebrow twitched furiously and -

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She pushed Alucard off her before making a frantic dash to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she re-emerged out drenched and soggy.

**Later.**

"Sir Integra's going on a hot date tonight?"

"She's having dinner with the Commissioner and a man named Frankie Morris tonight."

"Wow! Two men at once? I knew Integra was awesome but not that awesome!"

"No, silly, it's a_ formal_ dinner."

Ruby's stay at the Hellsing manor continued.

Two days had already passed and she was due to go home this afternoon. After the search at the archives the other day, Alucard had gone to tell Integra the news. Whatever had happened then, she wasn't informed, although private meetings were held now and then between Integra and the 'Knights of the Round'. Whoever they were, she did not know – all Ruby did was get used to the manor. She'd become familiar with the layout of two floors though, since the rest were off-limits to her. Not that she minded since the first two floors were large enough for exploration, with the archives, the day room, the (adequately named) games room, cinema room and study room. She watched Seras train outside in the courtyard and spent the morning helping Walter with the chores although he insisted she need not to, and in the late afternoon, once she was done, the draculina came to her and asked her if she wanted to go to the games room. Ruby accepted the offer.

They had decided to play Go Fish, and as usual, were taking this time to gossip. Alucard was nowhere to be seen; she had a hunch that he may be talking to Integra. The games room provided darts, snooker, billiards and poker - games Ruby had never really been familiar with. A pack of frayed cards in the cupboard among some jacks and an old Monopoly game board would have to do for now. "Oh, I see. Why the Commissioner?"

"Because we found some of the missing girls. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police would like to thank Hellsing for our efforts."

"Awww, and we aren't invited."

Seras emitted an unenthusiastic 'meh' and shrugged her shoulders. "It happens all the time; we get used to it."

"There are still a lot of missing people out there though."

The conversation continued. Seras and Ruby finished their game and were now merely chatting. "Maybe we should help Sir Integra pick what outfit to wear."

Seras pursed her lips. "That's a good idea, but... I'm sure Sir Integra doesn't need our help."

Suddenly, the door to the games room opened and Walter came in, holding one of those old-fashioned, gold telephones on a tray (which surprised Ruby a lot, because she had never seen a phone on a tray before). "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your card game, Miss Ruby, but we have finally managed to contact your parents. Your mother is on the phone. Would you like to speak to her?"

"Oh, right. Okay, thank you, Walter." Ruby hurried out of her seat and took the phone off Walter and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"…Ruby? Is that you, dear?"

"Er…yeah, mum, it's me."

"How are you doing? Have you met any nice gentlemen yet? Bring him home for dinner one day!"

"Uh, sure, sure." They conversed more until she hung up a few seconds later, then glanced at Walter and Seras. "…I better get packing." It was then she realised she didn't bring anything with her to Hellsing except from her clothes and her bag, which were in her room. She didn't have anything else to pack. "Uh… Actually, I'm gonna take a walk. Um. Please excuse me(!)."

Ruby hurried away after bidding Walter and Seras farewell for the moment; she returned to her room and found that the butler had cleaned her clothes and ironed them to perfection. She glanced down at her Hellsing jumpsuit. Surprisingly enough, she'd gotten used to the wretched thing. However, she changed into her sweater and jeans and slung her bag over her shoulder. She stepped out of her room and was ready to leave, until she realised that Alucard was standing right beside her door as if he had been expecting her.

She stared up at him, but said nothing. She had hoped he would've said something. But when he didn't, she gave him a confused look, but nevertheless began her walk around Hellsing manor. To her surprise, Alucard had begun to follow her. When she stopped in her pace, he stopped also. Ruby whipped round to him; he was a few feet behind her. She gave him another look but turned back round and continued her walk through the corridors, marvelling the décor.

A few minutes passed.

Ruby wondered if Alucard was still following her, and nervously forced herself to look over her shoulder. He wasn't there. Stunned, Ruby turned round fully and began looking for him. "Eh? Where did he go?"

And then -

"_Ruby_."

She turned round to see Alucard materialising through one of the statues next to her. She went 'waah!' and tripped over one of the jutting mantelpieces on the floor; but before she fell, she managed to grab onto another one of the nearby statues to hoist herself back up. To her horror, it turned out she had grabbed at the chest of the sculpture of a naked lady who only had a fig leaf covering her other parts. She gasped and let go immediately, staring at her hands in shock. Alucard laughed as soon as he saw her expression.

"I honestly thought you'd gotten used to that by now, my bride."

"No, not really. I was wondering where you went. What are you doing? Why are you following me?"

"…Where are you going?"

"I'm bored, so I'm just walking around."

"…If you are 'bored', you should have come to me."

"Uh…" _Quick! Change the subject!_ "I-Is something wrong?"

"You're leaving."

Ruby blinked. This conversation wasn't heading to a good direction. "Yeah."

Alucard stepped over to her and she hopped away, backing further against the wall. When he slammed his palm beside her head, she squeaked, staring at the length of his arm that was now effectively blocking her exit. He leaned into her, "…You didn't tell me, nor did you come and give me a proper farewell." He murmured huskily, his lips hovering near hers dangerously.

She swallowed down noisily, eyeing his parted lips with a twitching eye. Whoo… did it get hot in here or what? Ruby tugged at the collar of her sweater and laughed awkwardly. Whenever he dived into her personal space, it always made her rather nervous. "I thought you already knew. Aren't you coming with me in the car?"

"No, my master has ordered me to stay here."

"Oh. Well…you know where I live, Alucard. You'll just come over when you're not busy."

He laughed. "Perhaps. Oh, yes. Before you depart, I want to show you something."

"…Now?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I will tell you when we arrive."

Ruby pondered. Should she a) trust him and let him take her to wherever he wanted to take her? or b) refuse? Well… she _was_ leaving today… "Okay." She said, "Let's go."

Alucard gazed at her steadily following her answer. He seemed pleased with her answer. Very pleased. As if his purr of content was any indicator.

Something seemed different about him.  
>It wasn't just the length of his hair (which she thought was longer than usual – <em>hair length changing powers<em>?).

On the other hand, Alucard had noticed that she'd been more curious and obedient. She seemed to want to know more about him and didn't jerk away or attempt to hit him whenever he would touch her, like holding her hand or placing his hand on her shoulder. She didn't retaliate. That was good, he assumed. He had to slowly tame her. Any wrong, forceful movement and he may have to start all over again. Perhaps she preferred it if he courted her the old-fashioned way. Alucard wondered if it may need him to get her flowers or take her out on an expensive date. Then again, Alucard had been able to restrain himself. Maybe it was because he knew for a fact, that she had stayed at Hellsing and lived two floors above him.

He reached for her hand and began to lead her down the corridor. Alucard liked holding her hand; it was always warm and it was so small, fitting neatly into his palm. She noticed his long fingers clasped over hers tightly, he didn't seem keen on letting go although he never held on too hard. Ruby blushed and threw her gaze to the floor as they breezed through the corridor. They stopped outside a large mirror; Alucard pulled it out from the wall, revealing a shadowy passageway behind it.

She stared. "There?" She began, pointing into the dark abyss just as a thin fog spewed into the air, "You want to go in _there_?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

She bit her lip. Even if there was a problem he probably wouldn't care, she figured. She was proven right when he stepped in without further ado, still clutching her hand. They went down the stairs together. To Ruby's relief, the mirror did not close behind them, so a cuboid-shaped ray of light guided their way to the bottom of the steps.

"W-Wait, Alucard, I…I don't…er…" She was ignored. As soon as they arrived at the large dark, and empty blank space, consisting of nothing but bricks and tar, she blinked. "There's nothing here."

He gestured to his chair and the table with the bottle of wine, two glasses, and his sunglasses and hat. Where was the Casull? She figured he carried it with him wherever he went, even when he slept, perhaps. It was then she realised Alucard had taken her down to his chamber, although she decided to secretly call it a 'lair'. She thought it was strange his door was hidden by one of the randomly placed mirrors all throughout the manor, but nevertheless it added some mysterious quality to it.

"…Well…it's …uh…it's certainly_ large_." was her only comment when he asked what she thought about it.

There was nothing else to be said about his 'lair', really. It was hollow…empty… dark… and foreboding… as if it was hiding secrets, or concealed secrets waiting to be discovered, much like the vampire himself. "…Alucard?"

"Yes, Ruby?" Alucard moved to sit down on the only piece of furniture in the vacant space. She watched him tentatively as he made himself at home and then glanced around awkwardly; there was no other place to sit. When he patted his lap, motioning for her to sit there, she flushed but stood firmly in her spot.

"How long have you lived here?"

"Decades." He reached over and scooped up an empty wine glass, held it up high, as if he was examining it in the non-existent light. "Abraham van Helsing brought me here."

She wondered why he was telling her this. Did he…_trust_ her? Even though they hadn't met for long? Maybe it was the mate thing. After all, Alucard said to her once, being mates meant they had a 'bond that transcended any other'. Then again, he really did seem to pour all his faith into her without question. "Abraham van Helsing?"

"Yes, along with Jonathon Harker, Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmswood, and John Seward." Alucard said, "That reminds me, my Master is meeting with one of Morris' descendants tonight."

"Frankie Morris?"

"Yes."

Ruby pursed her lips and then took a quick glance around her once more, "…You _are _very far away from home. Do you… miss it?"

"Not necessarily. This is my home now." He mused, as Ruby glanced around before she suddenly lowered herself to sit down on the cold floor on the ground just in front of him; she got comfortable and closed her eyes. Then she did absolutely...nothing. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing?"

She replied, without opening her eyes, "Trying to understand you a little bit better."

He chuckled and put down the wine glass, shifting his hand to support his chin on the armrest. "Someone perished on the exact spot you are sitting on."

Ruby's eyes jerked open and she got up immediately with her mouth agape in horror. "WHAT - ? Aurgh, that's just – " She began wiping at her butt, much to Alucard's amusement as he watched her hop around. She glowered at him with half-lidded eyes, "Couldn't you have told me that before I sat down?"

He laughed at her response, before he stood back up and slowly strode towards her, approaching her within seconds. She blinked up at him as he leaned forwards, his shadow encasing her small form. "…Uh…Alucard…W-What are you – "

"Shh." He pressed a finger on her lips and she quietened down immediately; Ruby stared wide-eyed before she slowly began to back away from him, but she was apprehended by an arm encircling her waist, pulling her up to him. "Do not be frightened." He murmured in her ear as he snaked his other arm up to her back before he practically yanked her against him.

She hadn't been so close to Alucard before; not to this extent. She didn't want to show him that she was scared of him. Should she be? Her question was answered when her legs began trembling; she honestly didn't know if she was scared, or nervous. The two seemed to mesh together, and Ruby's stomach twisted into a tight knot as he slowly began to draw her head back, although she tried to resist him. "Alucard, let go."

"No," He asserted, "…I want you to see what I am doing to you."

She stiffened all over, "…Wha…"

"Do you trust me…that I will never bring harm to you? That I will never do anything that you don't want me to do? Just say the word…_and I will stop_."

She made a funny noise. "U…Uh…uhh…" came her intelligent response. Her mind was racing; unable to comprehend the situation at the moment. She closed her eyes tightly. _Get a grip!_ She thought, but her mind was still reeling. Ruby re-opened her eyes a few seconds later, then nodded meekly.

He smirked; his lips pulled back widely, and Ruby saw his fangs up close. All those myths about vampires having two fangs on each row weren't even accurate;**_ all_** his teeth were fangs – they were gleaming white, sharp as a shark's, perfect little machines for sucking blood and ripping apart jugulars. She began to sweat. _W-What have I just done?_

Alucard was speaking again, his voice dripping seductively in her ear, "Then…you will allow me to continue?" He murmured; and to her astonishment, her body didn't seem to obey her mind for she had nodded. She wanted to be brave. Or maybe a part of her wanted to know what Alucard might do. He growled huskily, "Even though the pain I will inflict on you may be unimaginable? …Are you willing to put yourself through that?"

She was mesmerised, by his voice, by his lips, by the morbidly handsome face that was mere centimetres from hers. Ruby stared, transfixed. "I-I'll try…?"

Without hesitating any longer, Alucard drew in a sharp breath, hissing slightly as he let his fingertips glide over the smooth pelt of her nape, the skin warm and flawless. Beneath it, he could hear the blood rushing, her pulse racing. He slowly tilted her so she was facing the side with her head pulled back slightly and pulled away at the collar of her sweater, revealing more of her neck; her heart hammered furiously, and she was trembling, yet she stayed still.

"…Will it hurt?" She squeaked, when he began to bury his face into her neck and gave her nape slow and sensual licks with his tongue, over and over again, as if he was preparing her, vampire-style.

He smirked against her wet skin. "Only when a human doesn't want to be bitten…" He purred, and her eyes widened. The floozy dream she had this morning seemed to be repeating itself. Memories of the vampire bar suddenly flooded into her. The image of the vampire that was killed by Sloan who tried to bite her clawed its way into her mind.

It was a monster. A blood-sucking monster.

_No._

_Wait.__  
><em>_I can't…_

_I can't do this!_

* * *

><p><strong>Notes<strong>

Thank you for your kind reviews, and all the help/tips/opinions, and I wanna thank GaarasMyBoyzz, Lucifella, KizunaCho, An Echo in Time, Little Miss Oblivious and nekomataonna. The Seal will be known as _**'Cavaleri de la flacara neagra**_' which is Romanian for **_'Knights of the Black Flame'_**. Why they are not Guardians... you will soon find out. I was meant to write about them in this chapter but I made last minute editing. I really liked the names GaarasMyBoyzz suggested to me (and the website was a really big help) so I will - whoa I am almost ruining the story for you guys! Ok i will stop right there

Although I don't think this story follows the OVA storyline, the person who died on the spot Ruby was sitting is most likely to be Luke Valentine. I put it in for a LOL moment but…eh.

**Romanian translations** - I translated it online but I'm not sure if it is right so if any of the romanian is wrong, I'm so sorry )): -bows- A translation isn't really necessary for the storyline but if anyone would like to know what was being said I will post it in the next chapter. It's funny how the brides were speaking in Romanian even though Ruby would have no knowledge of the language


	12. Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder

Ruby has weird dreams. The one with the brides were about her perception of them and subconscious fear of being bitten by Alucard and becoming his mate for reals. I'm not sure if translations are accurate and I don't have all the translations of what the brides were saying, but most of it were –

Sora – Sister  
>El va fi aici - Do not resist us<br>E frumoasa...Ea poarta asemenea senina gratie, ea arata ca un inger. Ea este asa de nevinovat - she is beautiful. Look at her face, there is such serene grace, like an angel  
>Da, stapinul nostru luate un fantezist pentru ea - Yes, our master has taken quite the fancy to her<br>Dar nu iti inchipui stapanul nostru in schimbul - But do you fancy our master  
>Venit la noi…Vino cu noi. Te cauta aici. Alaturi de noi - Come with us…You belong here. Join us<br>Aici el vine - Here he comes  
>Domnul meu - My lord<p>

* * *

><p><em>Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder<br>__(aka Black and White)_

Integra sat at the very middle of the round table, sitting opposite Sir Irons. They were currently engaged in a meeting. So far, nothing had been decided. It was a mess; the news of the vampire bar had completely caught everyone by surprise and no-one could agree on the proper way of dealing with this, and what would happen in the future from now on; it had caused severe debate. But now…

"Alucard has a…mate?"

It seemed that that was now the hot topic of today's meeting. "Yes." Integra replied, ignoring everyone's shocked looks. "...Alucard has found his _mate_."

Sir Irons held his hand out expectantly, and Integra handed him a manila folder which she fished out from the side. "This is everything you found out about her?" He enquired.

Integra watched him open the folder and take out some documents. "Yes. I had to. I checked her background before allowing her to step foot into Hellsing. She is an only child of a man and woman named Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft. They lived in Kent, and are employees of the Royal Infirmary of London. They're doctors."

"_Ruby Ashcroft_?"

"Yes, that is her name."

"She is only twenty years old… a child no less." Sir Irons muttered under his breath as he went through the rest of the documents. "What is it with that vampire and young women…?"

"…Alucard is fond of her." Integra merely replied. "She is currently undertaking an undergraduate nursing degree. She's only in her First year."

"And you?" He asked, "What do you think of her? Is she a threat?"

Integra wasn't quite sure how to answer to that, and said instead, "...I offered her compensation to have no affiliation with Alucard but she refused."

"She likes him?"

"…They still need some time."

Sir Irons raised an eyebrow in response to her statement. "Time?" Following his remark were some murmurs and whispers from the rest of the group. "No, Integra. I want that girl out of here. If Iscariot finds out, there will be trouble. I'm sure you suspect this as well - she is nothing but the vampire's playtoy. He perceives his surroundings to have become mundane and stale so he takes a liking to a human girl he meets during a mission and automatically claims her to be his own. He will just use her, and he will dispose of her when she is no longer of use to him. She is a distraction to him, a distraction to our operations." Irons implored, "...Over the past few weeks, the number of missing people reported by the Metropolitan Police has drastically increased to at least 200 individuals in a month no less; you have also just uncovered that people were running a bar for vampires... We are running out of time, and the number of human casualty is rising. And at the end of all this, it will be _you_ who will have to deal with the consequences, Integra, so I suggest to you, that you get that girl far away from Alucard as you possibly can."

Integra said nothing but contemplated his words to herself silently.

"Is she here?"

The director looked back up. "I beg your pardon?"

"Is she staying here at the moment, Integra?"

"...Yes, she is."

And Sir Irons said, "I would like to speak to her."

**Meanwhile.**

"No!"

She was screaming, struggling fiercely to get out of his grip. But still, Alucard bit into her with such ravenous zeal it sent a shock through her system. There was a fierce _'cchkk'_ of her flesh tearing, and she knew this time, the bite was different. He had bitten her before, but that was nothing compared to this. It was as if he was ripping a chunk of her flesh out from her, as if he was about to eat her. Her knees buckled and she let out a horrified gasp at the pain; it seemed to pierce through her entire body. She whimpered, and he had to hold her to keep her upright.

Ruby was too scared to push him off her and merely sagged against him; her hands flew up to his shoulders and her fingers clamped down. He emitted a muffled groan upon the feel of her nails digging into him. His hair tickled her chin, as Alucard closed his eyes, his fangs embedded deep in her flesh. His arms tightened around her, as if fearing she would disappear from him. The pain did not ebb away, and she could feel was his chest weighing down on her, and the increasing iron grip around her waist.

Eventually, he let go and he stared at her questioningly as she moved away from him, trembling. "You gave me permission."

Breathing heavily, she ran her fingers over the bite mark, refusing to meet his gaze. The pain was unbearable; she squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered somewhat. "I-I thought I _could_, but I don't think I can…" Her neck was aching and soaked with his saliva. Alucard's eyes were glowing fiercely, as if possessed by demonic instinct and hunger; she swallowed down, "I…I know I said I trusted you, but I…"

"When you have been bitten by a vampire, there is nothing else to be afraid of." His voice sounded different. It was low, guttural…something similar to an animal.

Ruby shook her head fiercely and turned away. "I-It's not that…I don't know if I can…"

Alucard's patience was wearing thin. "_What_?" He snarled at her, before he grabbed her chin. "Look at me."

She couldn't bring herself to; she was too scared.

"_Look at me_!" He deserved a proper answer. However, she did not reply, wincing under his booming voice. "Is it because I am a vampire? Answer me!"

The fact that she refused to was insulting to him. The fact that she wanted to avoid confrontations like this sickened him. His grip on her chin increased that if he was not too careful, he could snap her jaw in half.

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. "…I…I'm sorry…"

Sorry?  
>Was that all she could say?<p>

She certainly was a different kind of woman compared to his Master and Police Girl. The sudden disappointment was starting to have an effect on him and his fang tore at his lip so hard as he frowned that he drew blood. Ruby mumbled, "…C-Can't you understand how I feel about this?"

Anger flashed through him in seconds. Previously she had been gossiping to Seras whether Alucard had ever shown emotion and now he certainly was. His furrowed brows and the furious snarl on his face was evidence. "How _**you**_ feel? You think this is all about _**you**_? Who do you think you are? You are nothing but a lowly human, and I have made claim on you. You have no say in this matter!"

"I've not consented to anything yet!" She whimpered as she tried to pull away although she ended up falling onto the ground with her back against the floor.

"What? I have touched you and held you, and you did not resist…You even came with me here on your own will…Was that not consent?"

"I…I…wasn't leading you on, but I also wasn't – Alucard, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have - "

"Your apology means nothing to me." He growled low in his throat before he leaned down and pressed his lips fiercely against hers, kissing her harshly. Unprepared for this, Ruby made a muffled noise as he lifted her hands and put them onto the sides of his face. She didn't understand; even when he pulled back, he was trying to get her hands on him, on his chest, his shoulders, his face. Her fingers were shaking, as he made them rake through his hair. Eventually, he drew away and snarled, "Kiss me back."

She blinked at him wide-eyed. "…Huh?"

Growling, he seized her and smothered her lips with his once again when she didn't do anything. He grinded his body against hers thoroughly and Ruby squirmed under his grip helplessly, trying to get away. Suddenly, he let go of her face and closed his eyes; he grabbed her hand, pressed his nose against the palm and forced her fingers along the length of his face, savouring her contact. "…All these years…I have waited, just for you. I held everything back until I was raw and dry of emotion."

Ruby swallowed and croaked out, "…Alucard…?"

"I am fond of you, Ruby."

Her eyes widened at that point and she stopped struggling altogether to blink numbly at the ceiling as Alucard leaned down and pressed a kiss on her neck over the bite he had just inflicted. "…Uh…whu…" She flushed, her heart pounding.

His expression went cloudy. "It is the truth. You have stirred…feelings within me." He murmured, as she slowly averted her eyes to him. "…And I will never let you go. You are mine. Do not forget that."

Ruby swallowed down noisily when his fingertips caressed the curve of her cheeks. She bit down on her lip and glanced at the floor. She didn't hate him, but now, maybe it seemed he hated her. _…I wish we would stop arguing like this…_

To her surprise, he said, "I did not intend to raise my voice at you." And he moved off her and then stood back up with his back to her. He walked away, merging with the darkness, yet she could still hear his boots echoing off the stoned floor.

Ruby was left alone. She slowly sat back up, wondering what had happened. Why did this always happen? Alucard was wrong; she could not be his mate. They kept clashing. They didn't feel…compatible. Were all relationships like this? She didn't understand him, and he didn't understand her. Maybe he would end up loving her to death…if that was even possible. Death by love(?). She herself was not even sure it was love… No, he had not used the 'L' on her, just the word 'fond'. He was fond of her, like the way someone may be fond of their pet, like a pet dog. Whatever it was they had, it felt like a tireless game of tug of war, and neither end were backing down.

She roared in frustration, clawing at her hair as her heart pounded furiously. Somehow, she ended up feeling like a villain, a sore loser, feeling nothing but cheated and bitter. She glanced around the empty dark space Alucard called home, and pondered where he may have gone; she was due to leave in ten to fifteen minutes. He probably wasn't going to see her off… and it didn't feel like she was going to return to Hellsing anytime soon. Just as she stood up, a figure appeared at the doorway at the top of the stairs, and she looked up to see Walter.

"There you are, Miss Ashcroft; can you come with me for a moment?"

"…Where to?"

"The Convention of Twelve would like to speak to you."

Ruby blinked. "…_Convention…of Twelve_?"

…..

A few minutes later and Ruby found herself standing by herself in front of a round table awkwardly, staring at each of the unfamiliar faces in the room. She had a bad feeling in her gut; it was as if she was being interrogated. Why had she even here? What did they want with her?

"Miss Ashcroft." It was a grey-haired man in a maroon suit whom had previously addressed himself as 'Sir Irons'. He sat in a chair directly in front of her while Integra sat at the very back, watching stoically but also rather uncomfortably. Irons resembled her father in a peculiar way; perhaps it was the mannerisms he exerted. "Do you know why you have been summoned to see us?"

She slowly shook her head.

"It is the ordeal concerning you and Alucard." He replied, "I understand he has identified you as his 'mate'. I will spare you the details. Miss Ashcroft, you must be aware of your position here. Unfortunately, we cannot have you meddling with Hellsing's affairs any longer. You are to bear no affiliation with our Royal Order any more than you already do."

"But - "

"I did not give you permission to speak."

While Ruby threw her gaze to the floor uneasily, Integra said, "Sir Irons, please – "

"_Integra_." The man retorted immediately, and the director fell silent, much to Ruby's surprise. He turned back to the nurse who stiffened all over with fear when he laid his eyes on her. "I understand you were offered compensation the last time you came here. This time, we will compensate you again – however, you are to **accept** the money whether you want to or not and leave this place at once. Hellsing is in charge of the vampire, and Hellsing will command the vampire to stop seeing you at once." Sir Irons said. "And this time, we will make sure the vampire will listen."

She was breaking out in a cold sweat, badly. The feeling that she was no longer welcome here was strong but still she forced herself to continue to listen silently.

"Do you like him?" Irons suggested, "...But you should be aware that he had three brides before you. He is bored, and wishes for a new toy, which happened to be you. You are a hindrance. You will be a hindrance. It is only in our best interest, that you part ways with Alucard immediately."

Ruby felt a pang of discomfort in her stomach. She looked back up and her mouth opened, but no words came out. She didn't want to be here any longer. They were telling her that she was a distraction and a problem and that she should never see him again, but in the most yet somewhat degrading way possible and she didn't need this.

"You are to never step foot in this building ever again, nor do we want you to be associated with Alucard, for your own sake and safety. Do you understand, Miss Ashcroft?"

"Y-Yes." She croaked out, her throat going hoarse and dry. _I don't want to be here any longer!_ She closed her eyes and quickly turned round only to bump into someone's chest and stepped back slightly. _Alucard?_ She didn't even hear him enter the room. No-one did. But there he was, suddenly standing behind her.

"Alucard!" Integra sat up in her seat immediately.

He grabbed Ruby by the shoulders but she did not look up at him; instead, she kept her gaze low and he knew there was something wrong. He lifted his head back to Sir Irons who was watching them calculatingly, expecting a response from the vampire. The poor girl was trembling. Behind him, Alucard saw Integra shaking her head; he didn't have to read her mind and simply understood that no matter what he did or said would have very little effect, judging by the current predicament. He moved his hands from her shoulders to cup her face affectionately but Ruby stopped him before he could.

"Please don't." She uttered. It would make things even worse should he do something like that to her in front of the entire Convention of Twelve, she assumed. And she quickly shrugged herself out from his hold and brushed past him, pulled open the doors and ran out.

...

She dashed down the stairs as fast as she could and stopped outside at the front hall of Hellsing manor only to find Seras lurking around the lounge; when the draculina caught sight of Ruby standing in the middle of the marbled floor and seemingly wiping away at her eyes, she got up from the sofa and rushed over quickly.

"Ruby, what's wrong? Why…why are you crying?"

The nurse stared at the draculina and shook her head, before she let out a sniff; she paled somewhat by the sudden realisation of what she had just did… she had run out of the meeting. She had…run away. Like last time, at the previous meeting about Sloan and his son. Except…this meeting was different and just awful. She disliked being put on the spotlight like that. Ruby bit down on her lip, waiting for someone to call her back upstairs, but when no-one did, she slowly crouched down on the floor, hiding her face in her hands and sobbing helplessly. The tears wouldn't stop flowing; they just came and came, to the brink that Ruby finally stopped trying altogether and simply let it be.

"Ruby, what happened back upstairs?"

She wiped at her reddening eyes. "…He-He told me…that I wasn't to see Alucard again…that I'm not welcome here. I was so upset…and-and I know you guys have more important stuff to do and I'm getting in the way and you can't afford to have Alucard always hanging around with me but…but I didn't need to be **TOLD** that I was a nuisance, goddamnit! They think I'm like…some…some kind of _troublemaker_ or something…but I didn't mean to…I didn't - I-I'm sorry..." She looked up at her and clung onto her arm, and Seras draped her other arm around her in return. For a moment, Ruby seemed to have forgotten why she was crying in the first place. "They're forcing me to take the money to stay away from you guys and-and I feel awful - ! Why is this happening?"

"Ruby! It's alright, you're not a troublemaker, and you don't have to take the money - "

"Why is it so hard?" Ruby croaked out in between sobs, "It's…It's like nobody wants us to be together, and I can't take it anymore, Seras. I can't do it…It's too much; I can't…put up with it, I can't deal with vampires... I can't deal with Alucard. He's-He's always telling me I'm his mate but I feel… I feel as though I'm being pressurised into doing something I don't want to do, or…or I don't know what to do. I…I just don't know how to deal with him anymore..."

"Oh, Ruby..."

"...Please..._Please don't tell him I said that_..."

"Don't worry, I won't."

She didn't have to; Alucard was standing at the very top of the staircase, watching the two silently. He had heard everything.

…

"I know Sir Irons holds Hellsing's interests at heart, but he crossed the line today." Integra said, recollecting the events of the meeting, "…Miss Ashcroft has been sent home; the meeting has been postponed. I think she needs some time alone."

Alucard merely stared outside the window, watching the car pull out from the driveway. Ruby should be inside.

"For now, let's focus on the Black Flame Knights, shall we? I need your fullest attention. We will discuss what we will do with Miss Ashcroft **_later_**."

"…Yes, my master."

He seemed distant, which was strange, but nevertheless, Integra opened her laptop and inputted her password as Alucard continued to stare outside the window. "So…" Integra began, "What else did you find out about the symbol when you went to the archives that day? …Aside from the fact that they're called the 'Knights of the Black Flame'?"

Alucard turned away from the window, to Integra. "They are a faction of vampires who do not drink directly from a human. As whimsical as it sounds, they seem to have survived centuries this way. That's why lone vampires who act too independently and attack humans meet their demise so easily. Like the _Cheddar Priest_…"

"Vampire collectivism …now that's a first."

"Only the weak converge in groups, my master."

"Yes, perhaps. …You have no idea who they are?"

"I might."

She sighed, "…Anything? No? Then what about their origins?"

"Romania. Your ancestor came across them during his travels. They are represented by the seal we found on the dagger. Yet…there is no further information in the journals about these 'Knights'." Alucard replied.

Integra turned away from him to the laptop, and began typing away immediately, logging on with her username and password. "And what of Victor Sloan?"

"News of his death will have spread quickly to the ones who initiated him to open the vampire bar by now. What will you do about his son, Joshua?"

"I will try to locate him." Integra replied, "It should not be too hard to find a 15 year old boy."

"No, he is 45. Maybe older."

"You know what I meant. These vampires… who do not drink directly from the neck," She added, "Do you think they are benevolent?"

Alucard gave a gentle shrug.

"Even so, they have no right to kidnap people; they have to be stopped." She said; she hit the 'enter' button on the laptop and up popped an intranetwork search engine window. She typed in 'Black Flame Knights' and up came the results in seconds; she clicked on one and scrolled through the pdf document. "According to this, my father once hunted down vampire sects. This is not a first case scenario – there have been vampire sects in the past. The Knights of the Black Flame were also discovered by my father."

"When was this?"

"A few years after World War II." Integra replied, "It says here that they were annihilated. There was no mercy; the clan was wiped out completely."

* * *

><p>Caelum woke up with a start.<p>

He had a nightmare.  
>…A monster, like him?<p>

His eyes were trembling, his fists shaking. His eyebrows drew together irately as he slowly sat back up and looked around his office. It was broad daylight, but the blinds were drawn, casting a tawny brown light in the room. His laptop was closed, the lid pushed down. His eyes felt wet and his vision, obscured. He immediately wiped at the corners just to see blood smeared over the back of his palm, and little red droplets over the papers he had been reading before he fell asleep.

_Blood…tears?_

He frowned, before he let out a vicious roar and swept everything on the desk surface with a giant swing of his arm. The laptop and his cup smashed to the floor. He yelled out and dropped to his knees, before he clamped his hands over the sides of his head, surrendering himself to violent emotion swirling inside him as he continued to bellow with rage.

There was a knock on the door.

It had opened and there stood another young man with a gentle and handsome face, pale red eyes and a strong, narrow chin. He had medium-length white hair and a pallid complexion. At first, they stared at each other in silence, and then, Caelum slowly gathered himself back up. "Yes, Luther, what do you want?"

The man named Luther did not say anything but protruded out a thick, spiral bound notebook in his hand that said ORACLE CORP. on the cover, and gestured for Caelum to take it off him.

He took it and rifled through quickly. "Our company's shares are going up. Finally, some good news."

Luther nodded and then pointed to his own pale eyes, and Caelum then dabbed at the corner of his eyes where there was a few drops of blood still leaking out.

"Yeah, I had that dream again. Funny, isn't it? Me..._Dreaming_. Do you dream, Luther? No? Oh, well, lucky you. It has been a long time, yet that man's face still haunts me. Am I to live forever in unrest? Am I condemned to this unease, these…ill feelings, in here?" He clutched at his chest where his beating heart should be.

Luther did not say anything; instead, he merely shook his head in response.

"…Why are you here anyway? Where is Ermen?"

Luther pointed to one of the items Caelum had previously swept off his desk amidst his rage. It was a sticky note, which said:

**Gone to look for more targets for the tournament. Be back soon.  
><strong>**- Ermenrich**

Caelum held at his head. Of course. He had forgotten. "Luther," He growled and Luther moved to kneel down on one knee in front of him, "I think it's time we pay the Harker's a visit."

* * *

><p>Notes:<p>

1. **Oracle Corporation **and the **Knights of the Black Flame**, or **Black Flame Knights**… they kinda sound like a motorcycle gang xD I want to thank everyone who helped me. My brain was just… dry. Frazzled, like rice crispies. I am using Ermen as one of the names of an OC who will appear later in the story.

2. Although Jonathon Harker is not mentioned in the manga, I want to combine this story with elements from the novel.


	13. The Massacre at Harker Manor

**Warnings**: Violence, bad language

* * *

><p><em>The Massacre at Harker Manor<em>

"Mr Morris."

"Nghh…"

"Mr Morris?"

Someone grabbed his arm. It was a reflex - he flew awake with a rough jerk, and rammed his head forwards with the steward who reeled backwards, clutching at his forehead. The impact felt as though a brick had smashed into his skull, and the steward blinked groggily, looking at the passenger who had now awakened.

"M-Mr Morris…we have landed, sir."

"Oh, right…" The passenger rubbed at his eyes tiredly before glancing down to his lap where a light brown fedora hat had fallen off. He hastily bent down to pick it up and placed it back over his mop of fair hair, "That was a long flight…uh…where am I?"

"We have arrived in Heathrow, sir."

"Oh, right, right…"

The man named Morris quickly sat back up, completely unfazed by the fact that he had just headbutted a staff member. Morris was tall and somewhat lanky with a medium build; he exhibited a proud and wild demeanour as he dashed around the empty plane to retrieve his luggage. He reached up and pulled out a black duffle bag from the overhead bulk cupboard and thanked the steward who helped him.

"Thanking you, sir." Morris said, in his strong American accent. "Oh, wait, I still haven't finished that – " He picked up a cup in the holder of his chair which the steward was about to collect. It contained a bright orange fizzy drink, which he gulped down quickly. "The taste is funny, but I like it. What is it?"

"It's called an Irn Bru, sir." replied the steward.

"Iron brew?"

"Yessir."

He grinned, "Thanks. I'll be sure to have more during my stay here. I'll be on my way now." Morris brushed passed the female flight attendants.

"_Thank __you_ for flying with British Airways, sir. Please come again!" They giggled with their cheery tone as he rushed past.

He nodded his head at them in response, dashing out with his briefcase and bag slung over his shoulder to catch the airport bus that would take them to the departure gate. Once he was at the arrival, he glanced around expectantly. The airport was rather empty, except for a few passengers sitting in waiting chairs, staring vacantly at the monitors. It was night and there weren't many flights scheduled. He looked around, gazing at the gift shops and the security stations, staring at all the little Big Ben keyrings and Tower of London themed postcards. The UK was certainly different than the USA. It was colder and wetter and English accents were so strongly distinguished. It was then he saw an old man in a butler's uniform carrying a piece of card with the name 'Frankie Morris' on it in black permanent marker pen.

"Mr Frankie Morris?" said the old man with the monocle as soon as Morris approached him. "Descendant of Quincey Morris?"

"Yep, that's me." Morris took off his fedora and bowed.

The butler returned his bow. "My name is Walter C. Dornez, the butler of Hellsing. The Director and the Commissioner are waiting for you in a car outside that will take you to a restaurant for dinner. You must famished."

And in response, Morris grinned. "Nice."

**Meanwhile.**

"I feel like a bad guy."

"That's what guys do. Send you on a guilt trip when you reject them."

"I didn't reject him, Gwen, I just had… images."

As soon as she got home, she checked her voicemail and discovered that Pembury had contacted her; they wanted her to work a graveyard shift tonight. Despite the extremely short notice, Ruby phoned back and confirmed her attendance; she really had nothing to do, and she felt as though she had been slacking off since the short stay at Hellsing.

When she opened the door, the apartment felt stale and unwelcoming. She had gotten used to Hellsing even though she was told she would never return _ever_. She threw her bag down on the floor, took a quick shower, got changed into a new sweater and comfortable jeans, sat on the sofa and did nothing for the first fifteen minutes.

Then, she reached over and plucked up her phone. The person she consulted on the phone about her situation was Gwen. Not that Gwen was her first choice, but since the vampire bar incident, she hadn't heard from the girl. On the other hand, Gwen had also left her twenty voicemail messages screaming about how their favourite bar was now closed down forever, the owners, dead. Some horrible accident, her messages said. Some horrible nasty accident involving a robber, and now, they had to go find a new homeland for food and the occasional beer.

"Images? Like what?"

Ruby couldn't tell her that she kept remembering what she saw at the vampire bar. She wasn't generalising Alucard with the rest of the vampire population, but whenever she saw fangs…she got scared. Her heart would thump like thunder striking. She would not stop shaking. She would want to scream. And run. And hide.

But talking to Gwen about vampires was a serious No-No. Ruby tried to think of a more normal, everyday example. "Erm…well, you know when… you come out of a bad relationship, yeah? And then…when you meet someone new …you keep remembering, what happened to you in the past, and it makes you scared. You can't help it… but you're scared."

She awaited a response, but all she could hear Gwen eating something noisily on the other end. The girl was crunching vociferously, her teeth going _clack __clack __clack_ with whatever it was she was chewing on; it annoyed Ruby to no end. "Yeah, I get what you mean."

"I was told not to see him again." Ruby mumbled out.

"_What_? Who said that? His dad? Or was it his mum? His mum actually forbade you from seeing him?"

"Well, it wasn't really like his…er…mum but, I was told – "

Gwen was gasping and wheezing, "That's not even funny. Family-in-laws…sheesh, mum's are scary. They ALWAYS have a problem with the girl their son is dating."

"…What should I do?"

"Sorry, Ruby, but it seems it might take some time. You need to learn to earn the trust from the mum, and you have to learn to trust the guy."

Ruby sweatdropped at the sound of Gwen's advice. "…I can't earn the trust of his 'mum'. Believe me, his mum hardly wants anything to do with me. I know what you mean by trust, but Alucard saved my life. He's saved my life many times now. Isn't that enough?"

"Yeah, so?" Gwen was still eating, chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing… "Has he met _your_ parents yet?"

"Erm… no, and I don't think I really want him to…"

"Why? Why not? You think your mum and dad won't like him? Puh-lease. With his genetic facial structure, they'll want you to marry him and have all his babies. They'll be as beautiful as hell."

"Uh…Gwen…?" She could not believe what her friend had just said. She did not even know how to respond to that properly.

"What? It's the truth! That guy has the most perfect, angled nose I have ever seen - for a guy. I wish I had a nose like that." said Gwen.

"...…Sometimes I worry about you."

"Why, thank you, darling."

"Well, I gotta get ready for the graveyard shift. Thanks for the advice."

"No probs. When do you start?"

"In two hours. I finish at 6am. Wish me luck."

"Good luck. My shift is on Friday!"

"Okay. Bye Gwen, see you at class." Ruby hung up without further ado. Then she realised that despite the hour-long telephone conversation with Gwen, her situation hadn't changed at all and she was still as confused and unsure more than ever.

She inwardly wondered what would happen from now on. Obviously the vampire bar incident wasn't particularly of her concern anymore. Integra and the rest of Hellsing were working hard to investigate about the dagger, the symbol, Sloan and other things. They didn't need her sticking her nose in.

She sat alone in her apartment, cold and hungry. She hadn't had anything proper to eat ever since she came home, just instant noodles. It was just one of those times when she just wanted to sit and do nothing. Maybe gather up dust while she was at it too. Unfortunately, her graveyard shift at the new hospital started in two hours.

"….Why do I…feel as though I've just been dumped?" She mumbled under her breath, before she drew her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees to stare at her reflection in the black TV screen opposite her but then she shook her head and hastily dried her eyes.

_Time __to __get __ready_, she thought, _The __graveyard __shift __beckons._

**Harker manor. 2am.**

Caelum strolled down the dark staircase leisurely, hearing his footsteps echo off the stone. Back up the stairs, and his legion were dealing with the rest of the household. He eventually reached the bottom of the stairwell and glanced around in the darkness. It wasn't a problem; he let his eyes adjust and he scoured the basement until he found what he was looking for – a long box in the middle of the large empty space.

Grinning, he calmly walked over and looked at it inquisitively, before bending over to clutch at the lid of the box, which he slowly eased off. The weight of the lid was not a problem for him; he heard the low rumble, the loud grating of stone gliding over a rough surface. Footsteps poured down the staircase, and soon, a questionable number of young men all dressed in black arrived in front of him, evenly spacing themselves out to form even rows.

"Ah, you're here." Caelum said, and the men nodded, awaiting their instructions. "See for yourself! The legends are true: once, he was a prisoner of Dracula, and then ultimately, his slayer. I give to you, Jonathon Harker, enemy of vampire-kind."

He lifted up the coffin lid to reveal a skeleton nestled within the red interior of the coffin, a greying, brown set of bones carefully arranged into a hunched position. The skull was covered in a thin layer of what looked like mould and fungus, its teeth jagged and splintering. What were supposed to be the arms were crossed, some bones too small and brittle that it had fallen through the ribs and onto the old silk it rested on. Almost immediately, there were jeers, hissing and mocking laughter from Caelum's legion, but he held his hand up to silence them. He added, "Of course. He is _**nothing**_ now."

The laughter increased, until some vampires even spat at the grave.

"Stop!" He shouted, "_Don't __do __that_. Do not show him disrespect. Yes, he was human, but look – " and he pulled away at the arms that were stiff and hunched and they crumbled under his grip to reveal a rusted blade in its grip. "The very blade that cut Dracula's throat: Harker's _Kukri__knife_. Behold its immense power. It is the ultimate weapon in eradicating the undead, imbued by the very essence of the No-Life King himself. But of course, it is blessed in case it ends up in the wrong hands. Hurry, Luther, bring her here."

The vampires reassembled themselves, allowing Luther to enter the tomb, dragging a young woman soaked from head to toe in blood by his side. He made her kneel in front of them with her palms spread out in front of her, and she glared up at Caelum.

"You fucking leeches!" She spat at him venomously, "I've already sounded the alarm! Hellsing are on their way!"

Caelum scoffed at her, "By the time Hellsing arrives, we'll be long gone."

"What the hell do you want?" She wailed, half-screaming, half-sobbing over the floor.

He smirked at her widely and said, "_Please __remove __this __blessing."_

Immediately, the girl stopped glowering at him and crying and slowly, Caelum gestured for Luther to allow her to stand. The girl looked around, as if unfamiliar of her surroundings. Her brown pupils had a faint red tinge in them. She walked over to the coffin and muttered a spell. The faint gold glow from the blade washed away, and Caelum dipped his hand down, his fingers touching the handle. His grin broadened, and he pulled it out entirely and held it up in the air like a trophy.

His eyes settled on the Kukri knife in awe. "…Okay, we came for everything here we came for. Let's go."

"What about the girl?" One vampire asked, gesturing to the girl who was still standing on the spot, staring numbly into space, still hypnotised.

Caelum blinked at her, then smiled. He turned to Luther, who had been standing silently beside him. "Give me your knife, Luther." He ordered, and Luther did so as he was told, scooping out his small dagger from his belt. Caelum took it from him and handed it to the girl after feeling the weight of the blade in his hand. "_I __want __you __to __kill __yourself __with __this."_

The girl, in her hypnotised stupor, nodded and lifted the blade up to her neck. "Okay."

He patted her head. "Good girl."

Without further ado, she stabbed the blade into her neck and pulled, and Caelum let out a roar of laughter, as he watched her tumble to the ground. She dropped the blade, her fingers twitching as she lay in a puddle of her own blood. A few seconds later, she went completely immobile.

He inspected her before giving her body a hefty kick with his boot, blood gushing from her wound when he stepped on her slit neck. "…Is she dead? Yep, she's dead. Eurgh, just look at that mess she made." The vampires, except from Luther and Caelum, gave the corpse uneasy glances, sweating slightly as they ogled at the blood spilling from under the body. He gave her a few more kicks before he stepped backwards. "…Hungry, anyone? This is your last free meal before we go back to headquarters…"

**Later.**

The Harker family were one of Hellsing's previous, lesser-known allies.

_And they were…attacked by vampires?_

Integra arrived at the manor and stepped out of the car without waiting for the escort to open the door for her. The gates to the manor were crushed and the holy spell cast on them wasn't in effect anymore. She marched into the garden, gazing around the hedges and the statues all placed conspicuously on the front lawn. There didn't seem to be anything wrong so far. As soon as she arrived at the front door, she stared at it. It was ajar, swinging on its hinges, slashed in fresh blood. The lights were flickering on inside. She pushed the door open only to realise it was stuck. Pushing harder, she eventually opened the door to an extent so she could step in and saw a pair of legs lying on the floor, jamming the door. The rest of the body was missing.

The great hall was a mess; dead bodies were piled on top of each other. From what was left over, most of them didn't even resemble humans. A small child's arm could be seen sticking out near the bottom, the rest of the body most likely to be crushed. The entire grotesque spectacle looked like what leftover meat at a butcher's would look like. Walter accompanied Integra as she stepped forwards again, but she stopped when she caught sight of something gleaming under the flickering light from the ground. It was a shattered silver cross.

That was not all - above the corpse pile, on the wall, was a picture drawn in black paint - a dragon surrounded by flames.

As the Hellsing troops barged in and moved into their positions, a man in a suede suit and slacks entered the house and stopped beside Integra. He was taller than Integra, fresh-faced with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a fedora hat that matched his jacket, which he removed upon the sight of the massacre.

"…Integra, what happened here?" He uttered quietly under his breath, staring wide-eyed at the scene. He covered his nose; the stench was too much. Even Walter seemed a little disgruntled and took out a handkerchief for Integra, but she refused.

"Morris," Integra began, "…I just received a message that the Harker's were attacked… I came as fast as I could, but…I apologise that we had to postpone our dinner."

"That's alright," He said, before turning back to face the symbol that was painted messily on the wall. "…Who did this?"

"The Black Flame Knights." Integra murmured under her breath, her teeth gritting, before - "_Alucard_!"

Within seconds, a tall vampire dressed in red materialised before her, and Morris leapt back a step or two while Walter merely re-adjusted his monocle upon Alucard's entrance. "Whoa!" Morris squawked, "What the – When did you get here?"

Alucard sneered at him while Integra directed her troops for the time being to inspect the rest of the manor. "What an intriguing reaction. Have you never seen a true Nosferatu before, descendant of Quincey Morris?" Alucard said, grinning at the gawking young man. "And here I thought the stories about you were true...You are a vampire hunter, are you not?"

Morris blinked at him wide-eyed. "Yes, I am, but I haven't seen a vampire who…who can_walk_ through walls."

"Then you have never fought a proper vampire before."

The man blinked; his ego had been shattered in less than five minutes, and in front of a woman, no less. He cleared his throat and pulled at his tie uncomfortably, then sidestepped to Integra and whispered, "Can we really trust him?"

"I trust Alucard more than I trust you." was her blunt reply.

Morris blinked and turned to the vampire who looked like he could not contain his amusement any longer. Perhaps the right thing to do was get familiar with the vampire. "My name is Frankie." said Morris and he gave Alucard his hand, expecting a handshake. When Alucard did nothing except tilt his head to the side at Morris' outstretched hand, Morris pulled back and coughed into his fist. "…I've heard about you, Mr Alucard. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

They were interrupted by Integra clearing her throat. "This is no time for introductions." She intervened immediately, "I am relieved to see that you are here, but I will properly introduce you to the rest of Hellsing later, Morris. For now, I would like your co-operation."

"Sure." Morris said, giving her a reassuring nod.

Integra turned to the vampire, "…Alucard, what took you?"

"There was a disturbance in Dover Street."

"Mi'lady," Walter began, "News of a disturbance in the Harker household was reported roughly the same time Master Alucard and Miss Seras were dispatched to Dover Street."

Integra thought for a moment, then she shook her head. "…It can't be a coincidence." She murmured, before – "It was most likely to have been a distraction."

"Distraction?" Morris asked.

"…To attract Hellsing's attention while they attacked the Harker's. There is no way this was a random attack carried out by the Knights of the Black Flame. They wanted something…and they know," Integra said, "They know that we are aware of their identities."

Just on cue, one of the soldiers who had been covering the dining room emerged back out, shouting, "Sir! You might want to look at this!" He exclaimed, "There is a passageway here – "

Integra hurried over, along with Walter and Morris, while Alucard merely stayed in his position in the great hall, left to marvel at the horrendous remnants of the Black Flame Knight's massacre of the Harker residents while Integra entered the dining room swiftly where she could see an opening in one of the room's walls – the secret passageway entrance accessible only by the knowledge of a secret code shared by the Harker's- she stopped beside the soldier who was shining the light from his gun down, revealing a murky, bloodstained staircase leading to a secret basement. Integra glanced down into the dark depths. From the light of the dining room shining down to the basement below, a severed arm on the stone floor could be seen, following a red, meaty slab on the floor and what appeared to be human bones still with little fleshy morsels attached to it.

Integra stared while Morris' expression scrunched up. _They __broke __into __Jonathon __Harker's __tomb__…__?_

And another soldier was yelling, "Sir, there's a survivor!" He was crouching over a boy lying on the floor on the side in a corner near the parlour, his face obscured by his matted hair, drenched in blood.

"Check if he's been bitten."

A few minutes later of intensive scrutiny of the young boy lying on the floor, the soldier stood back up and shook his head. "He's clean."

"Get him to a hospital, quickly." Integra commanded as she began to make her way down the stairs into the basement, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses, "Which one is the closest?"

And Walter replied, "That would be Pembury Hospital, mi'lady."

* * *

><p>Her pager was beeping, instructing her on the greyish-green screen to go the Casualty department.<p>

Ruby adjusted her cap and raced down the corridor; previously, she had been monitoring sleeping patients but now she had barely time to think of what to do next as news of an ambulance pulling up with an injured family spread around. She went into the elevator, arrived at two floors below and ran past the small mental ward just to see two attendants restraining a screaming woman who was flailing and wriggling around like a helpless maggot, strapped in a straitjacket.

"I'm not crazy!" The woman was screeching, struggling furiously against her elastic bonds. "I saw it! I saw him with my own eyes! It was a vampire! It was crawling up the wall outside my room and-and then he went into the vents! There's a _**vampire**_ in this hospital! Please, you have to believe me!"

Ruby stopped in her tracks and stared, until another attendant told her to leave immediately and wouldn't let her into the ward. Ruby left uneasily, thinking hard, listening to the woman's desperate screams echoing in her head. She was brought back to reality by the frantic beeping of her pager. She raced into the next elevator and took that down to the ground floor to casualty. A few gurneys were wheeled in, coupled with three paramedics on each side, yelling and shouting instructions to each other frantically. An actual casualty; Ruby arrived at the ward and stared wide-eyed as they wheeled the injured people past her - a limp arm dangled off the trolley side, dripping blood - One of the janitors came over and began mopping the blood trail up immediately while Ruby was called over to help from one of the nurses.

"What happened?" She asked.

"They were attacked in their own home by robbers. At the moment, two people are in critical condition. Their son has slight concussion but he won't say anything."

Ruby looked around the seemingly empty ward; during the graveyard shift, they were always low on staff despite the fact that the number of accidents that happen during the day were almost identical to the number of accidents at night. "Where are the police?" As if on cue, a squad of policemen swarmed in from the elevator.

"Reception will deal with it; don't mind them."

"Right."

"Can you look after the son for the time being? He's in there – " The nurse pointed to the pink curtain that was drawn around a random bed and Ruby followed the direction her finger was pointing to. "He's badly shaken. He has a few wounds but they're not too serious."

"No problem." Ruby said. "Leave it to me."


	14. Joshua Sloan

AHA! I knew it! Unlucky Chapter 13, and guess what? I get flamed... or whatever it is.

To **Readers**: I want to thank KizunaCho, VampireSiren, Jigoku Hana Tenshi, watergoddesskasey, TED1OUS, Day-Of-The-Dead-TattooGal, Random Fan, Xxnikki123xX, angelofire, punk-HOLIC and Yarami for reviewing. You guys are awesome. I have also changed the summary. It was just too corny. And in this chapter, I try to write action. _Try to_. and this is a long chapter, to make up for my absence (I went on holiday oohohoo).

And finally...To **Critic: **Ah, my first flamer. But I thought you were kind to me. I expected something far more insulting. But you can weep and cover your face all you want because I'm still writing this story! Good day to you!

* * *

><p><em>The Graveyard Shift, Once Again<em>

The nurse thanked Ruby and hurried back out; while the rest of the doctors, nurses and emergency team barked orders and wheeled the other injured family members into the operating room, Ruby transformed into her emergency casualty mode that hadn't been able to resurface for some time and hurried over to where her patient should be while reception had to deal with the enquiring police for the moment. She pulled back the long, pink plastic curtain to reveal a teenage boy sitting up on the bed, covered in blood.

He was staring wordlessly at her, his cheek smudged with what looked like a flap of flesh and blood. He had light brown hair and green eyes and a small spray of freckles over his cheeks. His expression was sunken in, sullen, and his chest looked torn. It looked like claw marks. Even his clothes didn't make any sense anymore; they were nothing but black rags and tatters; what was left of his denims were soaked in blood. Ruby wondered what would be the right thing to say at this situation as she walked up to him. She never had excellent bedside manner; it was something she was still striving to improve. She stopped in front of him and grabbed a stool to sit on before taking out her supplies from the nearby equipment trolley.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

He said nothing except shoot her a wary glare.

"I'm Ruby, what's your name?"

He stared at her but remained silent.

She swallowed down, believing this was a bad time to make conversation. Although she wanted to make him at least feel a little better, she decided to get down to work. "This might hurt." She murmured, as she unscrewed the cap to the disinfectant. She reached over to his arm – he pulled back immediately.

"Leave me alone." He snapped.

Ruby blinked. "I'm here to help you. You can trust me."

"I don't need your help." The boy barked angrily, before he winced as he tried to raise his arm at her.

Ruby reached over and this time, the boy didn't attempt to shove her away, "I promise you I won't hurt you." She lifted his arm gently and cut open the sleeve of his jacket with a pair of scissors to see a long, bleeding gash. Ruby looked back up to see that the boy was still watching her curiously, as if wondering what she might do next. He watched her clean up the blood and dab at the fleshy wound, flinching slightly. "If I hurt you, tell me, and I'll stop, okay?"

The boy blinked at her for a few seconds, then nodded sheepishly. "…Okay." He mumbled.

She smiled up at him and he tensed up all over, swallowing down, then he quickly averted his gaze away from her, frowning, letting her smother away at his arm front and back with the disinfectant. She cleaned the wound again before she began to squeeze some ointment out of a tube. It was pink and smelt odd; but it was to help the healing process. The next thing she'd have to do was wrap the cuts up in bandages and then the boy should be fine. "You doing okay, kid?"

"_Don't call me that_!" He suddenly roared at her, to her surprise. However, he seemed ashamed of his own outburst and threw his gaze to his lap numbly. "…I hate it when people call me that."

"Then what's your name?"

He looked back up. "My… name?"

"Yeah."

He hesitated, but then said, "Harker."

"Harker?"

"Yes." The boy quipped back, "You got a problem with that?"

She backed off immediately. "Er…No, not at all..." _Whoa. This kid has some serious attitude. Oh well, he's in shock. …_But_…_He seemed a little bit too calm to be in shock. Then again, everyone had different ways of dealing with shock. "That's weird." Ruby murmured, as she continued cleaning, wiping away at the blood. The more she cleaned, the more the cut disappeared. "The cut is – "

Harker suddenly pulled away from her and she was left with an earbudful of pink ointment that was still to be slathered over his cut. "That's enough. I'm okay now." He replied hastily, pulling his hood back over his head. He was not as shaken as she thought he was at all; his voice was collected, steady, precise.

"Eh? But you're – "

"I'm **fine**." He muttered, and he turned away from her to inspect the hospital surroundings, "I'm fine. I need to get out of here."

"What? But your family…"

Harker turned away, "Whatever." He grunted. "People die easily. I got used to it."

Ruby blinked. This boy sure was strange.

He continued mumbling something incoherently under his breath, closing his eyes for a brief second and wiped with the sleeve of his jacket, before re-opening them. Was he crying? He turned to face her directly, "…And I don't want another person to suffer because of me, so leave me alone."

Ruby stared at the boy. Why did he talk like that? No, scratch that. What on earth was he saying? "You can't leave now, Harker."

"Oh yeah? Just watch me."

She tried to stop him, "At least let me patch you up; you still have - "

"No."

"Harker, there are policemen out there who'll want to ask you a few questions, they're not going to let you walk out of here - "

"No!" He yelled, squeezing his eyes shut, "_Leave me alone_!"

"Harker, I want to help."

"Go away! There's nothing you can do for me!"

Ruby pondered. She wondered if it was legal to wrestle with a boy who was unwilling to get proper treatment, but when she finally managed to lift up his shirt even though he yelled and shrieked, her jaw dropped. There_ was_ blood, but aside from that, nothing.

No marks.  
>No wounds.<br>No cuts.

She stared in shock, and Harker frowned furiously and turned away from her, pulling down his shirt. His face was abnormally red. "…I told you to leave me alone…" He grunted, before he hopped off the bed and kicked away at the trolley that was in his way. "Stupid."

He had just called her Stupid. Ruby's mouth hung open somewhat, "…Harker, you're…"

"It's nothing. I wasn't really hurt or anything, I – " He paused, his facial expression scrunching up as his fist clenched, turning white as a sheet. "I don't owe you any explanations!"

"You're a vampire."

Harker spun round swiftly, gaping at her in disbelief. "You - "

This time, he was interrupted by loud screaming coming from outside. Ruby sat up in her stool, and she moved to pull back the curtain. Harker tried to stop her. "No, wait, don't!" Too late. Ruby stared at the dark figure in the lobby who aimed his gun at her. "NO!" Harker yelled, and within a matter of seconds, Ruby was tackled to the floor just as a loud gunshot resonated through the quiet hospital.

She blinked numbly as she flew backwards, her arms flailing. The boy had grabbed her and landed on top of her and she gasped when she saw the ceiling, her back on the floor. He had just saved her… Gasping, Ruby's shaking hands went up to him and she felt her fingers come in contact with something wet and sticky. "B-Blood…" She stammered out stupidly, watching her fingertips become tainted with the red liquid. Harker's dull green eyes were still open, and he blinked sluggishly at her.

"What part of '**_No_**' do you not understand? You…idiot." He grunted, wincing slightly.

"Harker?"

"…Run…" He croaked out, squeezing his eyes shut.

"W-What's going on?" She squeaked. First, her old hospital, and now this new one? _This… this is getting ridiculous!_

"Just run…"

Ruby shook her head. She wasn't going to let the boy get hurt; she pulled back the curtain just as she got a good glimpse of the attacker; it was a young man with a black mask strapped over his mouth and nose obscuring his features except from long white hair and startling light red eyes. The mask was strange; a thick, churning tube protruded from the mouthpiece which went over one shoulder, affixed somewhere on his back. The man himself was adorned in a black, leather trenchcoat and military-style boots, and Ruby's eyes widened as he came closer, stepping on the dead bodies of the policemen who were littered all on the floor, crushing their limp bodies under his heavy boots.

This man… He was after the boy? Ruby panicked and scrabbled up, lifting Harker from under the arms and went to the other side of the curtain, which didn't face the lobby, and took him round to the back.

"Damn it…He's chased me all the way here…"

"Chased?"

"He's after me…Just let me go…"

"I-I'm not leaving you!" She tried to sound brave and strong, but failed miserably as she stammered. Nevertheless, she tried to lift him up and began to hobble out with the boy hanging over her shoulders.

At the precise moment, the man in the mask raised his gun and fired. It emitted a quirky, 'zzzp' noise and she realised the hitman had fitted the gun with a silencer on the end of the nozzle. Ruby gasped and flung herself away, still with Harker in her arms, barely dodging the bullet; it scraped her left arm and she winced in pain, but she desperately continued her course to find a place of shelter. _Sheesh, why do these things keep happening to me? _She thought bitterly to herself as blood poured from her wound.

At the moment, Harker's eyes turned from green to a deep crimson red by the sight of Ruby's blood. He gave out a grunt and shook his head furiously, trying to stop himself.

She didn't notice. Breathing heavily, Ruby rushed towards one of the staff-only areas and opened the door using her keycard dangling from her neck. She kicked open the door and dropped the boy on the ground for the time being before slamming the door back shut behind her and locked it, stepping away. Her arm was stinging and trembling from the aftershock of the bullet ripping through her arm, but she heard Harker groan in pain and immediately ran to his side. "… Are you okay?" She exclaimed worryingly, trying to stop the blood flow by blocking the wound with a bundle of bandages.

"Get away from me…" He moaned, "You're… bleeding…"

Ruby turned to her arm. The wound was indeed, still bleeding. "This is nothing. It's you I'm worried about." She didn't know if it was a good thing that the rest of the casualty ward had been unoccupied except from the now-dead policemen and a few members of staff who were also now-dead.

"I'm fine." He grunted, before he reached behind himself and stuck his fingers into his flesh; he found the bullet, which he began to slowly pull out of himself. He yelped and let the pain take over, succumbing, and he slumped against the wall, his eyes closed. "You should be worrying about yourself, kid." He croaked out.

She stared. _Kid…?_ She glanced to the bullet on the floor and flicked it away for the time being, having an ominous feeling from it. She turned back to the boy and moved him slightly off the wall so she could bandage his wound properly. "Why is that man after you?"

"He's not a man; he's a vampire."

"A vampire? Who is he? A hitman?"

"I… think I heard his name was…Luther. He came with others; the ones who killed my family."

"Family?"

Harker nodded. "…The Harker's. They…They're not my real family; they took me in, and…they looked after me." He said, "They thought I was dead, but I pretended to be."

Too many things were happening at once; too many questions raced through her head. She didn't even know where to begin. "…Why?" was her first, surprisingly enough.

"I ran away from my home. My real home. The Harker's…they hunted vampires, too. But when they found me, they knew that I wasn't like other vampires." He explained, "I've… never drunk from a human before."

"…How old are you?"

He seemed reluctant, but then he mumbled out, "I forgot. But I'm older than you, so stop being so patronising. I don't need an over-sized punk like you to look after me."

Ruby didn't like where this was going. "But how old are you meant to be?"

"15, I think."

It was slowly falling into place, and her eyes widened as soon as she pieced it altogether. "…Are you…?" Ruby began, but she paused. _What if I'm wrong?_ But the feeling was so strong. Her instincts practically screamed at her. _It's HIM. Victor's Sloan's son!_ She swallowed down and said, "Joshua?"

There was a silence as he stared at her mutely.

"You're Joshua, aren't you?" She said, "…_Joshua Sloan_."

"How do you know my name?"

Ruby paled. She didn't know what to say. Harker… no, sorry, Joshua, didn't seem to have any idea about his dad and what his dad had done. She swallowed down. "I…I heard about you." Ruby stammered out.

His eyes narrowed. "And why would you know about me?" He suddenly grabbed Ruby by the front, his fangs elongating as he hissed out, "Who the hell are you? Tell me!"

Needless to say, she was intimidated. "I-I've seen your father!"

"…My…dad?"

At that point, his grip on her loosened and Ruby paled and began stuttering and stammering incoherently. "His name was Victor, right?"

Joshua turned away from her, "…Someone told me was killed by a vampire named Alucard." He mumbled, "But I don't believe it! My dad is a good man!"

She began sweating as dread began to accumulate in the pit of her stomach. _Oh no! It's worse than I thought! _"Er…Um…I…your dad, he…erm…" How was she going to tell him this? She whirled away from him and stood back up. This was not the time to be discussing Victor Sloan. There was a vampire after Joshua. Lifting herself off the ground, she hurried to the emergency phone and pressed down on the emergency contact number.

"What are you doing?" Joshua barked, "Tell me about my father!"

"Shh!" Ruby waited patiently with the phone pressed against her ear. She felt bad for being unable to deal with Joshua properly at the moment

Someone picked up the phone. "Hello, your name please?"

"Ruby. Ruby Ashcroft."

"Department?"

"…Er…I'm…I'm just a trainee, I rotate between departments."

"Could you give me your specific department though, please?"

"Uh…Physiotherapy."

"And can you give me the name of your supervisor."

"Look, this is _really_ important, I don't have time to – "

"Miss, please co-operate, we need your details before we can forward you. Now tell me your supervisor or Resident Doctor, please."

"Uh…Uh…Martin Flayer... I…I think, I just started today and they're still going through the matriculation – I – oh god, can you hurry up, please?"

From the ground, Joshua stood back up and hobbled over to her, "What are you doing?"

Ruby turned back to him, "I'm trying to raise the alarm. I didn't realise it was such a lengthy process." Then she turned back to the receiver. "Hello? Hello? Are you still there?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Ashcroft, I have no record of you in our database, I'm sorry, but whatever it is you are trying to report, I can't forward it to – "

"OH FOR GOODNESS SAKE YOU STUPID ASSHOLE THERE'S THIS VAM – I MEAN, _MADMAN _IN CASUALTY WHO'S GOING TO KILL US ALL AND – " Before she could even finish the sentence, the door flew open and a tall figure stormed in, kicking over a few trolleys and gurneys in his way. Ruby stared in horror; it was the man in the mask – _Luther_. She dropped the phone, letting it swing by the cord and shoved Joshua further behind her back, hiding the boy away. "S-S-Stay back!" Ruby yelled, trying to sound threatening by raising her voice a few octaves higher. "Stay away from us!"

The man said nothing but studied her face for a few seconds, his red eyes gazing intently at her. For a split second, she believed he was contemplating, until he lifted his gun at her face and pulled the trigger; Ruby squeezed her eyes shut to brace for the impact, but to her astonishment, a tall figure crashed in through the window at the precise moment and pushed her away to the side.

Ruby stared up in shock at the newcomer. "A-Alucard!" She exclaimed with relief. However, the vampire said nothing except get off her to stand, facing Luther while Joshua stared up wide-eyed at him.

"…_A…lucard_?" Joshua croaked out.

Alucard paid him no attention for the time being. "Harming my bride?" He sneered as he stood opposite this mysterious assailant in front of Ruby protectively, "You have just made yourself an adversary."

Luther stared at him silently. The only audible response was heavy, ragged breathing behind the mask.

"I will…" Alucard murmured as he pulled out the Casull, "…make you squeal like a pig."

Luther said nothing and moved to an offensive stance before leaping off the floor and into the room, the tails of his black leather trenchcoat billowing behind him. He lunged forwards, and tackled Alucard; the two slammed through the wall and hurtled out of the hospital building itself. Ruby shielded herself from the fraying glass and debris, before quickly getting back up.

"Alucard!" She ran to the broken wall to stare out into darkness, shaking slightly. They were at the ground floor but when she looked up, she saw the vampires scaling the walls of the hospital – but they were not crawling as she thought, but rather, _running_ on the horizontal wall how one would move around on the ground normally. Like bugs. Her jaw dropped at the sight; they were clearly defying gravity! How could anyone _stand_ on a wall like that?

Alucard fired shots from the Casull at Luther, who dodged with a backflip before crawling up onto a random window ledge and into the room swiftly, his trenchcoat tails slipping inside behind him. Loud screams were subsequently heard coming from inside, before Alucard pursued, a maniacal grin on his face.

Ruby shook her head. "Déjà vu…" She mumbled, before she made a dash to the exit to follow the fight…although she wasn't sure this was the right thing to do.

Wait! She had forgotten something… or rather, _someone._

"…Joshua?"

He was gone.

Ruby growled. "Just great. Yeah this is just what I need, for that kid to run off…" She brushed a hand through her hair and hastily exited the tarnished emergency room and into the main hospital layout, watching the new crowd of startled patients and staff members gathering around at reception, questioning about the loud noises they'd heard outside.

She snuck out and into the staircase, just in time to hear shots being fired above and a loud, horrible screeching noise. Stunned by the noise, Ruby backed away, clamping her hands over her ears, her eardrums felt like they were on fire. When the banshee-like scream was over, she removed her hands and glanced around, before continuing on her way to the next floor.

She pulled open the door and peered in just to see a hail of bullets burst through the window, shattering the glass. She screamed and dodged by leaping a foot back, just in time to see a black shadow flitting over the window, followed by Alucard's swishing red cloak. She could hear more bullets being fired outside.

"…They're going further up…" She muttered under her breath. A few feet ahead of her, she saw Joshua making his way towards the rooftops. "Joshua!" She yelled, when she spotted him.

He turned round and gave her a look but nonetheless, ignored her call before running to a random window himself. He took a flying leap, diving through the window and broke through the glass, before crawling out on all fours, much like how Luther did before. Ruby's jaw dropped. Crawling vampires…that certainly was new… She disappeared back into the fire exit and began jogging up to the rooftops, taking two steps at a time.

_No, no, no! I know what he's going to do… he's going to try and kill Alucard!_

There was another horrendous screech although it sounded much further. Despite this, Ruby flinched again by the ear-splitting sound and had to grab onto the rail for support. Once the scream was over once more, the sounds of gunshots could be heard and she knew Alucard was apprehending Luther by now.

As soon as she arrived at the rooftops, she threw open the door and –

…

The vampire called Luther was fast. It weaved in and out of the hospital, climbing through random windows as quick as the speed of light before exiting through more windows to re-emerge back outside the hospital, making his way up and up. Aside from supreme agility, it also had a shrieking attack which didn't exactly faze him but sent humans writhing in pain; the ones with weaker constitution would find their ears practically bleeding. Alucard emptied a few more rounds into the vampire once he got a clear shot as it emerged from a window, and Luther's body convulsed under the shower of bullets embedding into him.

He lost his footing but nevertheless remained rooted to the walls of the hospital, before it protruded out his gun and began shooting at Alucard, emitting the horrid, but muffled, screeching noise at him behind the mask.

_That is becoming irritating now_, Alucard thought to himself as a bullet slammed into his jaw, tearing his lower jaw off his face, leaving it to hang, his tongue dangling. _I shall finish this quickly. _

Upon that thought, Alucard's lips tugged into a crazy smirk once Luther's rounds were depleted. "_Dog…_ You are nothing but a mere dog," He snarled, as he took a step closer, "You're just like the rest of them." He fired more rounds but the vampire dodged; Alucard grinned and swerved his glance to the roof. There. He would trap it there. The vampire was too damned fast. It was like a black blur half the time. He should get it cornered somewhere. Alucard emptied some more bullets without further ado, and as he predicted, the vampire began swiftly crawling towards the rooftop for more coverage.

He landed on the rooftop just in time for the door to slam open and Ruby came stumbling in, sweating and flushing. "Alucard…" She panted, wheezing and coughing, as she stopped to rest. "Thank goodness I found you, where's – "

A shadow dropped down beside her and– "Ahhh!" Ruby screamed when Luther grabbed her from behind and held a knife up to her neck.

"…" Luther still did not speak, however. Instead, he glowered silently at the vampire, his pale red eyes flashing behind his long white bangs. He pressed down on the knife, and Ruby whimpered slightly.

"Why won't you speak?" Alucard demanded.

"…" Luther only emitted a guttural noise behind his mask in response. It sounded like a snake hissing.

Alucard raised an eyebrow. Perhaps the vampire named Luther couldn't speak at all. Luther merely narrowed his eyes at him as he took a step forwards; Luther backed away, still with Ruby in his grip. Slowly, they circled each other before Alucard slowly lifted up his hands… "Releasing control restriction at level 3…level 2…level 1…Situation A. Cromwell approval is now in effect," He murmured, in a strange, hypnotic-like trance, "Commencing limited power release until the current target is in complete silence…"

Luther stepped back slightly, still with Ruby in his grip as eyes began to surround them. Ruby was hit with another sense of déjà vu; hadn't Alucard did the same thing to her before? But this time… something felt different. The black miasma withered away and the face of a large…dog…thing began to manifest from Alucard's body.

Luther's eyes widened when a hellhound came hurtling out, latching onto his hand with the knife close to Ruby. She screamed, expecting the knife to plunge into her neck for sure due to the close proximity, and she was also sure the dog attacking Luther would make him stab her definitely, but to her surprise, the dog ripped away at Luther's hand before he could and Ruby squeezed her eyes shut when she was released. She collapsed to the ground and quickly wriggled away to a safe corner.

Backing away from the snarling hell hounds, Luther leapt backwards to evade only for another entity to seize him from behind – he whipped around and immediately fired his gun at Alucard only to realise it had only been an illusion. Behind him, a pair of jaws snatched around his waist and the hellhound tossed his helpless body over the scaffolding to the left of the rooftops right where a sharp metal pipe end was sticking out and –

Ruby heard the unmistakeable squelch of flesh and shakily opened one eye to see that Alucard had impaled him using the edge of the pipe, the vampire still wriggling around like a maggot. The gun dropped from his hand, clattering to the foor. Eventually, Luther stopped moving and simply lay draped over the scaffolding with his head down, the pipe sticking out from his stomach, dripping with blood.

Alucard stood in front of him, staring intently at the impaled, unmoving body. His hellhound lurked around, as if awaiting an order. Yes, he would devour him, but then -

A piercing scream tore through the air.

It was Ruby. She was screaming and screaming and screaming and screaming, having unintentionally witnessed the entire scene. He automatically turned round and approached her, still engulfed in the black miasma. Ruby stared up at him.

What was in front of her was an older version of Alucard.

Yes, many questions bombarded her mind. Why was he here? When did he even arrive here at Pembury? What about the words Sir Irons had said? And why did he look... _different_? He appeared older, his cheeks hollow and his skin was stretched, grey and dull. His frame was thin and emaciated, evidenced by the tight straitjacket-like appendage he was wearing, exposing his stick-like arms and thin body. An eyeball blinked at her in the middle of his chest and she scrambled back, eyeing him warily.

"…What…are you?" She managed to croak out, only to be responded with his cackling laughter as he threw his head back to the night sky. …_Is this…Alucard's true form…? Is this what he really looks like?_

He stopped laughing then, and stared at her in return for a long time, until - "Yes…indeed…_What am I_…?" He quietly repeated her question, before he held his long and thin, spindly arms out, "…This is what I am."

And then…he held out his hand to her.

She recognised the gloved hand. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to take it. The answer came when she saw a shadow creep behind Alucard and her eyes widened - the first thing she did was shove herself in front of him.

_BANG!_

A bullet slammed into her left shoulder and Alucard whipped round with snarl but the recoil sent her doubling backwards; he caught her and Ruby grabbed onto his arm, stopping him amidst his retaliation. She shook her head and turned to the assailant.

"Joshua!"

Alucard saw a young boy stumbling backwards, his eyes wide at the sight. No! He wasn't aiming for her. Why the hell did she jump in front of that goddamned vampire? "I-I didn't mean to – " He stopped halfway, throwing Luther's gun to the floor before leaping off the edge of the rooftops, disappearing into the darkness.

Ruby tried to follow him but Alucard held her back. "Joshua, come back!"

"Joshua?" Alucard growled under his breath, "Victor Sloan's son?"

"It-It's okay…He wasn't trying to kill me. He knows you killed his dad. He wants revenge." She winced, her hand flew to her wound and she drew her hand back, her fingers smothered in the red, goopy liquid. "Ahh…owww…okay, I need to get this checked out…"

Alucard's eyes widened at the sight.

His chest suddenly hurt.  
>His body felt like it was on fire.<p>

He opened his mouth, his tongue darting forwards, as if having a mind of its own, wanting to taste. He saw the blood drip from her fingernails, and onto the floor as she fussed over her skin wound.

Sweet, sweet blood…  
>On the floor.<br>_Wasted._

He shuddered and quickly turned away from Ruby. The smell was…endearing…like…honey…no, even better…he had no idea what it was… or what it could be…what it would taste like, but he…knew he desperately wanted -

"…Go…"

He could feel his fangs emerging as he stood, tensing up all over. His eyes began to roll to the back of his head; this time, he wasn't in control.

Ruby blinked up at him nervously. "A-Alucard?"

He was jerking in his spot, twitching, convulsing. At the same time, he was emitting a sound akin to snarling. He growled, his chest rumbling, almost as if he couldn't help himself. "…Get away from me…as fast as…you can…" He grated out, with increasing difficulty in trying to get words out right. He clamped his hands over his face, his fingers clawing down as his mouth widened with uncontrollable glee as his fangs began to extend and extend over his bottom lip, "Before I…I…"

He did not finish his sentence, for he had blacked out.

* * *

><p>I actually didn't like how this chapter turned out. I'm sorry :( I might go back and edit it.<p>

Review, criticise, flame, anything...I don't mind.


	15. Mad Men

Originally, this was split into 2 chapters – it was called 'Mad Man' and 'Yellow Brick Road'. But the chapters interlinked so I thought I might as well just merge the two together so now it's called 'Mad Men'.

* * *

><p><em>Mad Men<em>

"…A…Alucard…?"

Ruby took a meek step backwards as the vampire began to advance towards her. She swallowed down, her eyes never leaving his form.

"Alucard, stop that." She stammered, "Y-You're scaring me."

"…_Ruby_…" He hissed out. Even his voice had changed to a more deeper tone. "_My __darling __bride__…__Come __to __me__…__Let __me __taste __you_…"

She shook her head.

For a split second, their eyes met and then he had lunged at her. Ruby screamed and ducked away from him, but Alucard reared back up, a maniacal grin on his face as he pursued. She screamed again, scrambling back up. Her heart thumped furiously; where to run, where to run? The rooftop sealed her off and Alucard was standing in front of the door that led back into the hospital. She could jump, but…it was seven stories high and she was very likely NOT to survive…Ruby screamed once more when he dove for her; she sprinted to a corner of the rooftop but Alucard intercepted her – his grin widened considerably and she stepped backwards, rushing to another corner, only to have him block her off there, too. It felt like a heavily unequal match of cat and mouse.

"_You __have __nowhere __to __run __to, __my __bride_."

"Don't do this, Alucard. Please."

No, this was not Alucard.  
>He had gone… berserk, somehow.<p>

This was his hunger speaking.

He leapt off the ground, pouncing on her like a tiger hunting its prey and Ruby fell backwards. Her head slammed against the ground painfully and her vision went slightly blurry. Nevertheless, she could still mak out Alucard's outline hovering above her. She saw his fangs bared, ready to bite down on her neck any moment and his eyes were entirely red; even the whites of his eyes were dominated by a glassy crimson hue, crazed with hunger.

"NO!"

He grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to look upwards, exposing her neck.

"No…" She was weeping now.

He tore away at the collar of her shirt, his fangs elongating…

A strangled scream escaped the back of her throat. "_ALUCARD_!"

He stopped - inches away from her neck.

Then, he let go of her, and Ruby was left panting and shaking. She opened one eye to see that he had pulled himself away, gazing at her, momentarily frozen in his actions. Without thinking twice, Ruby scrabbled back up and away from him and began running as fast as she could to the door. One of her shoes slipped off but she didn't stop to pick it up. She pulled open the door and began thundering down the stairs, tackling two steps at a time.

_Don't look back don't look back don't look back don't look back whatever you do just don't look back._

Was he following?

She forced herself to shakily turn round just for a weight to press onto her back and she tripped over the flight of stairs she had been rushing down. They tumbled onto the landing, and Ruby's ankle gave a loud 'crack' when she landed flat on her stomach; in her agony and pain, she could not muster the strength to gather herself back up, still pinned underneath by Alucard. A puddle of blood also began to form underneath her, dribbling from her wound.

Straddling her back, he bent down and licked her blood on the ground, before he grabbed her by the top of the skull and forced her head to the side. She squeezed her eyes shut, her fists clinching as she lay helpless on the cold ground. Before he could sink his exposed fangs, Ruby heard the ominous squelch of flesh being torn apart. And Alucard roared; it was a monstrous sound, a sound that did not seem to be made from a man. He let go of her, shaking and flailing wildly, and behind him, Ruby opened her eyes; she could see a man. He was dressed in a suede suit and if Ruby didn't know any better, could have mistaken him as a solicitor of some sort.

"Run!" yelled the strange young man.

Ruby abruptly rolled away from under him, her breaths shallow and ragged with fear. But she did not run. She looked back up just to see the man pull out the blade he had used to stab Alucard. It was dripping with Alucard's blood, running all over his hand and the handle. The knife gave her a worrying feeling…

"I told you to run."

She shook her head.

"Alright, fine. Just stay behind me." The man said, as he moved to stand in front of her protectively.

"Don't hurt him."

"He was about to kill you."

The two glanced back up to Alucard; the vampire was swaying, his fangs grating as he growled and snarled at the strange man. His hand flew up to clench at the wound on his back, his eyes returning back to the normal reddish shade. He let out another bellow and began tearing at his himself, clawing frantically, as if unable to control himself. The strange man stood in front of Ruby, holding his knife out in front of him cautiously. Alucard stopped in his berserk mode for a moment and craned his head over, "…R…Ru…Ruby…" He growled out, still snarling and growling. He took a step forwards, his hand reaching out for her.

The strange man moved forwards too with his gleaming blade but Ruby stopped him by shooting a hand out to grasp at his arm. "That's enough! I think he's okay now!"

"He's out of control!"

"It's alright - He's fine! Look - " She pointed to Alucard, who was now panting heavily. His fangs had retracted, and he was hunched over, crouching down on one knee with one hand over his face.

"…R…_Ruby_…" He hissed out again, eyeing the two beadily. His eye whites were beginning to recover.

"Can't you see he's trying to regain control?"

"You can't go over to him, not yet."

Alucard looked up, slowly removing his shaking hand. His mate was standing beside a man. Morris. It was Morris. It was Morris who had stabbed him. Stopped him. Morris was giving her an incredulous look. In his hand, he was wielding a knife. That knife. Where had he seen it before? It was no ordinary knife; it hurt him and he was still bleeding. And Morris… Morris…_what __is __he __up __to?_

"Master!"

A voice calling. From the corner of his eye, he could see Police Girl running up to him. She always had that anxious expression on her face…

"_Master_!"

And he blacked out again.

…..

"The Bowie knife was inherited by Frankie Morris…"

Distorted voices were murmuring to each other.

"What's the Bowie knife?"

"…To defeat Dracula, four weapons were used: Abraham van Helsing's silver cross and stake…Jonathon Harker's Kukri knife…and Quincey Morris' Bowie knife. After it became defiled by Dracula's blood… it became no ordinary knife…But that's just a myth."

The voices were becoming clearer. "Are you kidding? He's been out for hours." It was Ruby.

"Why are you so concerned about the vampire, Miss Ashcroft?" This time, it was Morris speaking. "He would have killed you if I hadn't come. Sir Irons asked me to help Hellsing, yes, but also to keep a close eye on the vampire. I had my suspicions too, but I did not know it was true. A human and a vampire… and to think Integra has not even put her foot down once in this matter… It will shame my honour as a vampire hunter if I cannot protect humans from the very source of evil itself."

Integra said, "Morris. No matter what we say or do, Alucard can't be stopped in pursuing whatever it is he desires. It will be his decision, no-one else's. He will take full responsibility."

"A-Anyway, you shouldn't be concentrating on Alucard, but on those Black Flame Knights! They were the ones who stormed the Harker's residence and the hospital and went after Joshua!"

"Yes, but first, can you clarify to me what the relationship between you and Alucard is exactly."

"…I – " The girl paused. "…I'm his…mate."

There was a silence, then –

"No. You can't be. There's no such thing. Do you know what he is, Miss Ashcroft? Do you know what he has DONE? He went after Lucy Westenra and Wilhelmina Murray. He had three brides. Don't you get it? Women have always been his passion. It is his nature. He has merely ensnared you, seduced you, and he has you under his spell."

Another lengthy pause, but then - "I'm not under any spell. And… Alucard's different now."

"Is that what he told you?"

"Alright, that's enough, you two." Now, it was Integra's voice he could hear. "He's stirring."

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Alucard."

He was in a room with bright lights.

"Alucard?" Integra was by his side. She was smoking a lit cigar, her hands clasped together as she gazed at the poster of a mother and her newborn baby on the wall of his room. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." He replied, "Ruby is…"

"I'm here." She was hogging a spot at the far end of the room near the door, with Morris standing beside her.

He bolted back upright; Morris was _standing_ beside her. He hissed, narrowing his eyes at the man. But when he turned to Ruby, he realised she was supported by crutches, her right ankle and shoulder bandaged thoroughly. Integra got off her chair but did not move from her spot. "Morris stopped you with his Bowie Knife. Seras came to see you but you were still unconscious. I'll tell her the news. For now, I can only suggest you reconsider your situation, Alucard. Whatever you choose will be entirely up to you; it will be your responsibility." Then, she left.

Morris turned to Ruby consequently. "Will you be alright, Miss Ashcroft?"

"I'll be fine, thanks."

"Very well. I'll be outside if you need me – " He turned to Alucard, and nodded, then stepped towards the door, "Wait up, Integra."

The room fell silent when Ruby turned to face Alucard. She limped over to him and sat down on the seat Integra previously occupied, with much difficulty, and sighed.

"I broke your ankle." He said.

"Yeah." She said, gazing at her cast. "You got me out of practical work for weeks. No more graveyard shifts."

"I frightened you."

"I-I think I'll be okay." _Yeah, __like __maybe __after __a __month __of __therapy._

She had stammered. That gave it all away. "It will never happen again." He said; he moved towards her and reached for her hands, holding them tightly. She stared at her small hands enclosed in his. "I swear to you. You have my word."

Ruby said, "…It's funny how…you keep saying that you won't hurt me." Then she slid her gaze to her ankle again. "But I know you didn't want to hurt me. I suppose I…I kinda realised that something like this might happen one day. Sir Irons was right."

Alucard let go of her slowly. "If you wish to leave, then…I shall let you go. We will part ways."

She gaped at him in shock then. "…Are you serious?"

"I almost killed you, what else is there to contemplate about?"

And all this time, she thought he could be quite the selfish man. But no…He was serious. Without another word, Alucard got off the bed he was lying on (He hadn't lay on one for ages, favouring coffins for recuperation) and began to manoeuvre to the exit of the room until Ruby pushed herself off the seat, limped over to him and seized the end of his cloak. "Wait!"

There was a silence. Ruby slowly let go of his cloak as he turned round to face her; the silky fabric slipping away from her shaking fingers. "Wait?"

"You…You don't have to go, Alucard." She stammered out; she was unable to look at him, keeping her eyes trained on the polished floor instead.

"Give me a reason." He spoke quietly, his voice almost reduced to a whisper.

She blanched. "…Reason? …Well, I…know you didn't want to hurt me."

He stepped closer to her. "I may lose control again."

"Y-Yeah, you might, but…" She began to mumble. "Do...Do you want to leave me? Because I…I…I don't want you to leave me." _What? __I __know __he __didn't __want __to __hurt __me, __but __he __still__almost __killed __me. __And __every__time __we're __in __each __other's __presences, __I'm __the __one __who's __always __running __the __opposite __direction. __I'm __the __one __who's __always __refusing __him! __But __now __I'm__…__saying__this __stuff. __What __the __hell __is __wrong __with __me?_

"You…"

Ruby turned away from him immediately. "…I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that." _But__…__when __Sir __Irons __told __me __I __was __to __have __nothing __to __do __with __Alucard __anymore,__I__was __so __upset. __Like__…__someone __practically __ripped __a __chunk __out __of __me._

"You love me."

She whipped back round to him, frowning. "No I don't."

"Why must you lie to yourself, my bride?"

"Lie to myself about what?"

"Your feelings - " He reached over himself and grabbed her by the arm. " - For _me_."

"I-I don't have feelings for you." She stammered. She was being stubborn - _again_. It was really annoying him. He had never met such a stubborn woman like her. Stubbornness was fine at the beginning – he could tolerate it – it was what humans called 'playing hard to get', but now, after all they had been through, it was downright irritating. "I just don't want you to start blaming yourself for hurting me or-or whatever."

"You lie. I almost kill you yet you still do not want me to leave you?" Alucard snarled at her, "What kind of fool are you?"

Ruby's fist clenched. "YES! I'm a fool! I'm an idiot! I'm a bloody stupid idiot! I'm the worst kind of fool there is!" She screamed at him, "Yes, you broke my ankle and you frightened me and you chased me around and almost killed me back at the rooftops…even though Integra warned me and Sir Irons told me I was to never to see you again…and that guy called Morris just told me all sorts of things about you about Lucy and Mina and your three brides! I'm the biggest, most stupidest idiot on earth for not wanting you to leave me! But I don't want you to leave me just because you lost control! I don't want the fact that you might lose control…will…will…" She was starting to calm down, "…will make me lose you."

Alucard watched her; she was panting heavily, glaring at him bitterly. But then the anger withered away and her expression softened. She looked lost. Ruby turned her head away, then tried to limp back to the chair. However, before she could he grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him.

"Let go."

"No."

"I said let - " She was interrupted when he suddenly pressed his lips against hers so fiercely that she dropped her crutches amidst her shock and she tumbled backwards; he fell on top of her on the bed and broke off the kiss, gazing at her from above. "Wh…What…" She croaked, her lips tingling.

"…Do you want me, Ruby?" He breathed as she blinked at him wide-eyed; he let go of one side of her face to caress her cheek and hair affectionately.

Her jaw dropped open slightly, "Wha - ? What kind of question is that? Do **I** _want _you? You don't ask girls that! And – "

He intervened with another kiss. "I want you."

She stared at him wide-eyed. Then, she ultimately went red from chin up.

"I expected too much from you." His voice was suddenly whispering in her ear, "You are still young, Ruby. There is much for you to learn. I have become impatient, and I lost my temper with you that day. …It will not happen again. I did not mean to hurt you..." He grasped her face with his long fingers and made her look up at him, their lips almost touching as he used his other hand to slowly caress her jawline. Ruby gasped and inhaled a sharp breath, her trembling eyes becoming lost in his. "You are so special to me, Ruby." He was murmuring, "…I don't want to let you go. If I…_Should _I lose you, I would not know what to do."

Whatever he was doing, it was working. "…I-I wouldn't know what to do, if…if you weren't here, either." She mumbled.

He smirked and clasped his hands to each side of her face again before pressing his lips over her forehead, her temples, and brushed them over the sides of her face. "You are so precious to me…" Hs lips began mouthing against her skin as he kissed the side of her neck hungrily, "So very precious…"

Ruby shivered all over. His affections were overwhelming for her that she almost melted if he hadn't given her a tight squeeze as she lay limp in his arms. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and finally regained some sense of herself. He moved up to her lips; her mouth parted somewhat to accommodate the contact that hadn't even happened yet. She trembled slightly, and he smirked, his lips pulling back widely with satisfaction at the realisation that Ruby was at his mercy compared to before.

Things certainly have changed…

* * *

><p><strong>Outside.<strong>

Clutching his gaping wound, Luther struggled through the woodland and eventually collapsed, his knees giving way. After the vampire became preoccupied with the girl, he managed to pull himself off the pipe and make a silent escape. On the ground, he rolled to lie on his back and pulled off his mask, along with the coiled tube that was attached to his mouthpiece. Blood began seeping out, like water from a leaky hose, but then gradually disappeared, little drops soaking into the ground underneath him. His supply had run out. Staring up at the moon, he felt oddly at peace.

However…His jaws hurt. Luther lifted his black-gloved hands to his mouth, wiped the blood and saliva from his chin and felt around before opening his jaws, where his fingers came in contact with ragged, splintered rows of teeth, identical to the jaws of a deep-sea angler fish. The only sound that could be heard was his jaded breathing and his deformed teeth scraping against each other.

"Luther?"

A shadow appeared beside him. It was Caelum. He stared down at the albino vampire from above and smiled.

"There you are."

Luther eyed Caelum beadily, as he gave him his hand. He helped Luther back up, who hastily moved to crouch down on one knee in front of him.

"I'm surprised you are alive. No-one has ever faced off against the mighty undead King and survived. This must go into the Vampire Guinness Books of Records or something." Caelum laughed at his own joke.

Luther remained deathly silent, his head low.

"You saw her, didn't you?" Caelum mused as he glanced at his subordinate from the corner of his eye. Then, he burst into raucous laughter. "But can you believe it? Alucard's _mate_. She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

"…" Luther did not move his head but glanced up at him from under his long bangs.

There was a rustle of bushes and suddenly, in came Joshua, sprinting towards them, gasping and panting. He stopped in his tracks, skidding to a jarring halt on the heels of his converses, and stared wide-eyed at the vampires in the forest clearing. He recognised these two figures. They were at his home! They killed his family! And they took the Kukri knife. He had a much better view of them this time; Luther - the vampire hitman sent after him - was the one kneeling on the ground. He had silvery-white hair that reached to the middle of his back, his bangs were long and covered most of his eyes. However, he could tell the hitman had pale, pinkish-red eyes. Perhaps the most startling feature that Joshua stepping backwards in fright was that Luther's mouth was gruesomely misshapen. The vampire was eyeing him cautiously, emitting a low hiss from the back of his throat.

"Ahhh, did Luther scare you, Joshua? You shouldn't judge people by their looks, you know. Just because he looks scary doesn't mean he is scary. He's actually really nice - aren't you, Luther?" Caelum turned to the vampire beside him, who continued to growl at Joshua. "And he won't harm you unless I tell him to."

Joshua took a step back in response just as Luther snarled at him, his mouth splitting open that his lips went way back to his ears, showing more and more of those awful teeth. "Y-You know my name." _Why __does __everyone __know __who __I __am? __Even __that __nurse __back __at __the __hospital__…_

"Of course I do. Victor's told me everything about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You know my father?"

He nodded. "I was the one who told him to open the vampire bar. How else do you think he would get the money for all that?"

"What are you talking about? What bar?"

"You don't know? While you were away, Victor opened a vampire bar. Alucard killed him. Your father was a horrendous man. He was kidnapping women and selling their blood. He _had _to be stopped."

"Wh…What…? T-That's impossible, dad was a policeman, he worked to protect - "

"When people get desperate they'll do anything."

"No, he can't…he couldn't have…"

"Here." Caelum tossed him a small object. It was a vial, filled with a strange red liquid sloshing inside…

"What is it?" Joshua found himself asking, eyeing the vial in his hand worriedly.

"The least I can do for you, since you've just been orphaned."

Joshua gritted his teeth. "Sorry, I don't accept things from strangers." He said, and he lifted his arm to smash the darned thing until Caelum stopped him.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Josh? Don't you want to know what it is first?"

"…No." He spat out, "I'm not interested."

"But it's the cure."

"What cure?"

"You don't have to be a vampire anymore, Joshua. Drink it. That's all you need to do. But you need to ask yourself first – do you want to become…_**normal**_?"

Normal? Joshua stared at Caelum. "I don't believe you!"

"It's your choice. But your father was working extremely hard to buy that for you. It was his last wish, to earn enough money to get it, and see you revert back to a human." He said, "We do need to talk though, Josh. Luther was meant to bring you to me, but you put up such a struggle and got so many innocent humans involved…"

Joshua shook his head. "No, you just want to finish the job; you stole the knife, killed my family and - "

Caelum's eyes immediately narrowed dangerously. "_Family_?" His lips widened and he threw his head back, his maniacal laughter echoing through the woods. "You make me sick, Josh. The fact that you call those germs your family… that's _disgusting_."

"They treated me like – "

"Like what? _**One **__**of **__**them**_?" Caelum snarled at him, "Don't be a fool, Joshua. I was exactly in the same predicament as you hundreds of years ago. Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't trust them. In the end, they'll betray you and destroy you. They'll hunt you down like animals!"

"Not all of them are like that! The Harker's weren't!"

"So? They're not here anymore. What are you going to do? Ahhh Joshua Joshua Joshua…Where will you run off to now? Run, run, run…that's all you're good at, isn't it? But where will you go? To Hellsing, or to us, where you rightfully belong?"

"I-I'll…I'll never go with you!"

"Then you'll turn to Hellsing? They might kill you too. You're the son of that monster, after all. It's their duty to eradicate all things evil. Don't get it, Joshua? You're far much more than them. You don't need them! They'll only drag you down to their level!" Caelum remarked, "Humans are the worst. Whatever they don't understand, they ostracise and fear and do everything they can to stop the truth from being uncovered. They can't accept that vampires are an advanced race, and will slowly, but surely, take over..."

Joshua was staring at the ground now, "…It was you, wasn't it?"

"Whatever are you accusing me of, Joshua?" A smile had appeared on Caelum's face.

"You sent a vampire to bite me all those years ago."

"Do you have any proof?"

"I don't know how you did it… and I don't know who or what you guys are, but…but I know you aren't the good guys!" He stammered, before he spun round and disappeared back into the woods.

The albino vampire made an attempt to follow him but Caelum stopped him. "Leave him, Luther. Joshua is still a child; he needs someone to help him fetch blood. He will never muster the courage to do it himself. Without us or Hellsing to look after him, he won't last long."

* * *

><p><strong>Later.<strong>

"Ruby? Can I speak to you in private, please?" The doctor held open the door for her, and Ruby limped into the x-ray screening room. He gestured her to sit up on the chair, and she did as she was instructed, hopping up onto the chair and easing herself into the seat.

"What's up?"

"…I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said, "You see, I re-checked the x-ray. Your story of how you fell down the stairs doesn't exactly match the injury it inflicted to your ankle."

"But I _did_ fall down the stairs."

"Yes, yes, I know, however…it's more like, someone _pushed _you down. A weight pushed you down. A very heavy weight, at a very high velocity. The equivalent of your injury is almost identical to someone being hit by a car. Falling down the stairs on your own accord couldn't have done this much damage to your ankle. Why don't you tell me what really happened?"

She turned away and glanced to the side; she seemed anxious now. However, she said nothing. She didn't want to say anything about what had truly happened. He decided to back off, noticing how quiet she'd grown. "Alright, I won't force you, but I just want you to know that your ankle may take around ten to twelve weeks to heal – "

"T-Twelve weeks?" She gasped, shooting upright in the chair. She couldn't afford to be in bandages and plaster casts for twelve weeks… "B-But I can't… I have so much work to do – "

"It'll be alright, but you absolutely, cannot place any more strain on it." He explained, "If there is any more injury on your ankle... I'm afraid it's going to be permanent."

"What do you mean? It's going to get worse…? How much worse?"

"You see, when you landed – " He demonstrated to her the way how she landed, with his arms out and his knee slightly bent, " - you also fractured your patella slightly. Just like your ankle, it's at a very delicate stage at the moment and will also need some time to recuperate. But if you get into another accident, then you're going to be stuck with – "

"A permanent limp..." She finished for him. Sometimes, she really hated being a nurse.

"I'm sorry, Ruby."

"No." She said, shaking her head. "No…No, no, no! I-I still need to finish my course - I've not even passed my First year yet; I still want to be a nurse!"

"…I'm really sorry, Ruby. But you're going to have to really look after yourself from now on."

* * *

><p>Ruby stepped out of the examining room, depressed. She sighed and limped over to an empty waiting chair and sat down, placing her crutches to the side for the moment. <em>Well, <em>_did __I __honestly __believe __I'd __come __out __of __that __without __a __scratch?_ She stared at her hands silently. _But...__a __permanent __limp?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone come over only to see Seras. "There you are, Ruby! I was looking all over for you. Sir Hellsing wants to properly introduce us to Frankie Morris," said the blonde as she bounded over to her; she dropped her smile as soon as she noticed that Ruby was pale and had a rather sordid expression on her face. "...Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Ruby wondered what might happen if she told Seras about her predicament. However, as she contemplated more about her situation, she realised she didn't want to tell anyone; after all, there were far more important things than her leg. There were the Black Flame Knights to think about, the theft of the Kukri knife, the attack on the Harker's...and finally, the missing whereabouts of Joshua Sloan.

She shook her head and stood up, collecting her crutches. "No, I'm good. Let's go, Seras."

…..

"My name is Frankie Morris. It's nice to meet you all."

Finally, proper introductions were made. Hellsing were a strange bunch – consisting of the king of all vampires himself, a draculina with limited vampire-hunting experience, an old butler, Integra, and now this… human nurse girl? Back in America and he had a mixed team of old and young soldiers – most of them were volunteers. He put them under the care of his most trusted first officer before leaving. Hellsing seemed to have so few forces on their side. As he met the rest, shaking their hands and saying 'Nice to meet you' and 'Let's kill vampires together', Morris eyed the nurse worriedly from the corner of her eye as Alucard stood beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

Ruby Ashcroft was a quiet girl.

It was the quiet ones who he always looked out for. She had long brown hair and blue eyes, nothing out of the ordinary, really; she looked perpetually tired but that was because it was around 5am in the morning. Her ankle was broken, and her shoulder and arm, wounded. But here she was. Still alive and well. Perhaps Ruby Ashcroft had nine lives, even though she was a human. Morris was human too, of course, but he'd lost a finger in his left hand during one vampire hunt and had it replaced with an artificial one. A finger was priceless, after all. He was also partially deaf in his right ear. Despite his disabilities, he never let it get to him. He trained hard to get where he was now, and his disabilities never got to him. Nobody would even notice until he told them.

But Ruby, he had heard, had been through several vampire attacks and had survived them all, coming out of them just with grazes and skin wounds. She was indeed, a lucky girl. Integra told him she was a single child, born to two doctors named Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft. She accidentally got into Hellsing's affairs after Alucard found her in the hospital she worked in; said hospital was under attack by a vampire.

"Morris will be our forensics expert from now on." Integra said, before realising Morris was still watching Ruby. "…Morris?"

"What seems to be the matter?" Alucard growled at him, his eyes narrowing at the young vampire hunter "…See something you like?"

"Huh? What? Oh. Um, no." He snapped out of his staring stupor and turned away. "I'm sorry, Integra, what were you saying?"

Integra gave him a somewhat sympathetic look and shook her head, "As I was saying…Morris is a professional; he is trained in various forensics disciplines to aid in his vampire hunts…"

He sounded like a genius, he thought, as he listened to her speak. Having been born into a family that had always hunted vampires, even centuries before his generation, meant Morris had a path already constructed for him to follow. When he was 8, when little boys were playing in mud puddles or pretending to be their favourite comic book hero, Frankie would be reading Dracula and training in his backyard with his father, shooting fake rifles at strawmen. When he was 15, when boys would be worrying about getting dates for dances or sitting through their high school exams, Frankie was more concerned with how to analyse bloodstains and spatters to identify victims of vampires. And when he turned 20, his father betrothed to him the daughter of a vampire hunter who lived next door to them. Of course, he'd fled then, for arranged marriages had never really been his thing.

And now Frankie was here. He was requested on behalf of Sir Irons, a powerful man with a powerful presence in America. The man was always closer to the Morris family compared to the Hellsing family, which was a surprise. Arthur Hellsing had been close too, but after his death, communication between their families had been a little loose. Maybe it was because subsequently after his death, news spread that a young Integra Hellsing had killed her Uncle for the position of director, and had awakened Alucard in the process. Morris had heard stories about Integra; he'd played with her when they were younger, too. He knew she had her reasons for her Uncle's death, and he did not think less of her. It was just then he realised -

He turned round to Integra and said, "By the way, you look different."

She blinked at him behind her glasses with her icy blue eyes, which then narrowed into slits. "What are you talking about?" She snapped at him with a frown. But it was true. Integra was happy then. She smiled. She glowed. Now she…well, it was like someone had replaced her with somebody else. Some kind of wooden puppet on strings, or so he thought. This Integra was serious. Stoic. Solemn. Disciplined. Almost everything she wasn't when she was 14 years old.

"You've changed a lot." He added, "A _hell_ lot."

"That's nice to know," came Integra's flat response. However, her expression did not change. "So have you. Now that everyone is gathered, let's discuss the attack at Harker manor and the attack at this hospital, shall we?"

"Joshua Sloan is the only survivor." Alucard said, with a wicked grin, still holding Ruby close to him away from Morris.

"Yes." Integra rifled through some documents in front of her on the table, sorting through them. "Joshua Sloan was taken in by the Harker family. We have been unaware of their movements because the Harker family has very loose ties with Hellsing; in fact, Harker wished to bear no affiliation with Helsing and they soon lost contact. This does not mean, however, that they did not participate in any vampire-hunting activities."

"Why would they adopt Joshua Sloan?" Seras asked, with a raised hand.

Integra glanced down to the papers on her desk. "…Pity, perhaps." She lamented, "We need to focus on larger matters at hand here - Jonathon Harker's tomb was disturbed by the Black Flame Knights, and his kukri knife, _stolen_. Something that intrigues me is that none of the Harker residents have been bitten."

"Then they are not interested in creating more vampires or ghouls." Alucard replied.

"But no blood was drunk, either."

" - except from the half-eaten corpse we found in the basement." said Morris; Integra gave him a look, but he shrugged in response. "Even then, we discovered that the victim had already died from a slit throat before being feasted on."

"Then they only wanted to kill the residents."

"Actually, it was self-inflicted. Perhaps she wanted to avoid her fate by another's hand and so mercilessly brought it upon herself." Integra cleared her throat and added, "Also, Alucard fought a vampire tonight. From Miss Ashcroft's testimony earlier on, the vampire was sent after Joshua Sloan. He is still alive. Miss Ashcroft. You said his name was 'Luther'?"

Silence.

"Miss Ashcroft?"

Ruby looked up. "Sorry?"

Integra glanced to the side, then sighed gently. "…Never mind. You should retire for the night. You must be exhausted."

"Oh…right…okay." Ruby nodded absent-mindedly as she strode to the tent flap and lifted it up, just in time for a soldier to come clambering in.

He saluted upon arrival and kept his head high as Ruby brushed past him without a word. "…The hospital has been secured, sir!"

"Very good." Integra replied, "Let's pull back for tonight."

"Yessir."

Integra then turned to the rest as soon as the soldier began to leave to tell the other troops that they were returning to Hellsing. "You are all dismissed. Morris, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure."

While everyone left the tent –Alucard went after Ruby, and Walter and Seras left to discuss silently about their predicament - Integra was left alone with Morris. "You must have questions about Alucard and Ruby. I will do my best to answer them."

Morris scratched at the back of his head awkwardly. "Is he using her?" was his first question, and in response, she shook her head. Morris added, "He actually… loves her?"

"They're fond of each other."

"Aren't you worried?"

"I was." Integra replied, "But it is as I said, there is no use in attempting to stop Alucard from pursuing things that is of his interest."

"Then what about you?"

"…Should anything go wrong, then I shall intervene."

"Okay. Fine." He replied. He was staring at his Bowie knife which he'd cleaned free of Alucard's blood earlier on. "…As long as you're thinking that, I'm fine."

"Fine?"

"Yeah, I'm not like Sir Irons, I'm…uh…I'm a very open-minded guy. You know, I'm just open to everything, I like to think outside the box… those kinds of stuff. Anything's possible." He said, forcing a wry smile from Integra, and he turned round to leave, but then – "By the way, when did this start? The two of them, that is. And…what do you think will happen should they…you know…_mate_." He coughed into his fist.

Integra did not budge in her seat. "I thought you knew."

He blinked blankly at her. "I don't. But I have theories."

"Theories?" She said, and he nodded, "Even my ancestor did not know."

Morris replied, "Of course, Abraham van Helsing never attempted it before. That would defy human nature. It's an abomination to even think of doing so..." He finished his conversation with Integra and hurriedly left the tent, and stood outside, watching the sunrise with an uncomfortable sensation surmounting in the pit of his stomach. The rest of Hellsing were now preparing to return to the manor. He made his way back to the van Integra had provided for him until a figure stepped in front of him.

It was Ruby Ashcroft. "Can I talk to you, Mr Morris?" She said.

"Talk? Oh, of course, Miss Ashcroft." He stopped outside one of the black vans, sliding the door open. He said, a tad awkwardly. "You, uh…want to come in?"

She blinked as he gestured to his van; Ruby peered in and saw a large assortment of vampire hunting gear – crossbows, shotguns, rifles, submachine guns, bayonets and daggers. Even a fisherman's pole was standing proudly beside a katana. "No, I'm good here." She said. Besides…if Alucard saw her going into Morris' van by herself, he might get angry.

"Will you be okay?" He pointed to her crutches. "You sure you don't want to sit down inside?"

"I'm fine."

There was something odd about this girl. She gave him a weird vibe. He wasn't sure if anyone else had picked it up. "Okay. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Um, well, first…Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome. But I really am sorry about your ankle."

She glanced down to said broken ankle. "…I also heard the conversation between you and Sir Hellsing. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop." She said sheepishly, scratching at the back of her elbow, "…You really don't know what will happen if…a vampire…mates with a human?"

"Eh…Technically, no." He shook his head, "I'm sorry. But… if it makes you feel any better… I do have theories. Vampires are basically dead beings." He explained, "When a human becomes a vampire…they have to die first."

"Like Seras."

"Yes, exactly like Miss Victoria…She died the night she was shot by Alucard, but the main difference is that she was _**bitten **_before she died. Therefore, she died as a human, yes, and then she was 'reborn' as a vampire."

"I see." Ruby said, "But what about Joshua Sloan? Alucard said he was turned during his sleep."

"Then Joshua Sloan was perhaps bitten during his sleep and died from the blood loss." Morris replied, "Then when he woke up, he was already a vampire. That's usually the way how humans become vampires."

Ruby inhaled a shaky breath at that point. "…When I heard about Joshua, I was so upset for him. But when I met him tonight, I didn't know what to say to him."

"There are some things that are better left unsaid, Ruby."

She whipped her head up to him in shock. She had said almost the same thing too once…

"_Therefore_," He exaggerated the word with an eyebrow raised, "…Going back to our topic now about vampires and mates...Vampires cannot produce offspring. Their only offspring… are the humans they turn into vampires. Draculs…Draculinas…Midians. Do you get it now?" When she nodded, he added, "By the way, if you don't mind me asking…will you…become a draculina? For him."

"Oh, right." She caught his drift; however, her expression did not change at all. "I really don't know."

He actually hoped she would've said 'No'. However, he patted her shoulder gently in an attempt to reassure her. "When the time comes, I'm afraid you might not have a choice."

She did a double take. _And __what's that __supposed __to __mean?_

"Well…" He let out a yawn, "I'm tired, so I think I'll get some shut-eye before we return to Hellsing manor. See you later." Without another word, Morris retreated back into his van and slid the door back shut, leaving Ruby standing by herself.

She had mixed feelings about Morris. He was eccentric, but useful. Informative. And suddenly, she was apprehended by an arm swooping around her and she was lifted off the ground and into someone's arms, bridal style. She squeaked, her crutches falling and clattering to the ground. She wondered if Morris could hear, but all she could hear from his van was snoring. He was asleep already? Ruby looked up to see none other than Alucard grinning down at her. He picked up her crutches, gave them to her to hold for the time being, and turned away from Morris' van and began to walk out of the hospital parking lot, which was filled with black Hellsing tents and more black vans. Soldiers passed them but did not say anything, although they were subjected to odd glances now and then.

"I gave you some time to be alone as you requested… I did not realise you would go and seek out the vampire hunter."

"I just wanted to ask him something." She replied, staying limp in his hold. "Ahhh, mind the foot, mind the foot…"

He shifted her in his arms so he was holding her at a better and more comfortable angle. "And he has answered your question, so I am taking you with me."

"…What are we going to do now? You know, about the Harker's and the knife being stolen…"

Alucard flicked his red eyes to her languidly. "'_We_'?" He chuckled, "I do not wish for you to get involved in this any longer."

"What? Why not?"

"It is dangerous."

"But I want to help."

"_Your_ help? What can you possibly do?"

"I'm not useless, Alucard."

"You may as well be. Right now, you are in no position to argue your case. It is a fact; this concerns forces larger and far more dangerous than perceived. I cannot guarantee your safety all the time, Ruby."

"But I still want to help – "

"Ruby," He reprimanded her; although his tone was not harsh or cruel, it was enough to make her wince, "Why must you defy me? Why are you not obedient?"

"I've got to be honest and say I won't listen to you all the time."

Alucard watched her for a brief while, then smirked. "That's very naughty of you." He purred, and he reached over and began nuzzling her neck.


	16. Mr J H Brenner Meets the Parents

**UPDATE NOVEMBER 2011:** This was meant to be Chapter 17, but I merged Chapters 15 and 16 together, so this is a repost.

**warning:** SMUT!

* * *

><p><em>Mr J. H Brenner meets the Parents<em>

"Do you have money for the bus?"

"No."

"The bus driver will throw you out."

"I know what I am doing." Alucard replied, "No need to be alarmed, my bride."

"…Alright, if you say so." But Ruby dug into her purse and took out an extra bus fare amount, just in case. Witnessing Alucard being thrown off a bus for not having the bus fare would be an amusing but also dignity-shredding, humiliating and gut-wrenching thing to witness.

She didn't know why Alucard had decided he'd take the bus with her. Although Integra had allowed Alucard the liberty of returning Ruby home safe and sound, going with her on a bus didn't seem like something he would do.

But there they were, standing stiffly side by side at the vandalised, rundown bus shelter, waiting for Ruby's bus to arrive.

_Is __this __really __happening? _Ruby thought to herself.

They stood in silence. It was not an awkward silence, but rather a comfortable silence, and as Ruby slipped her purse back into her bag, she noticed how many looks Alucard attracted, and he was only just standing in a line for the bus with her. He did rather stick out… he was extremely tall… and he had such wide, broad shoulders that if he sat in a cinema, he'd be sure to gain many complaints from the people sitting behind him, and not to mention, he wore such a strange and large yet eye-catching overcoat…

But no, perhaps the worst thing was that many pretty office girls who were now starting work were queuing with them (since it was roughly 8am), and Ruby deduced - all had settled their vulture eyes onto Alucard and had found him positively attractive; Ruby's lips pursed when she saw them whispering and giggling to one another before trying to catch his attention by deliberately standing closer to him.

Ruby threw a quick glance down to herself. Inferiority rising, she realised she was nothing like these office girls. They were appealing, taller and slender, with their short black skirts and fashionable, stylish bags and in-the-season high heels. Ruby was stuck in her black hoodie, jeans, dirty converses and two-bit, potato-sack coloured bag. Not to mention her foot was now stuck in a cast and she was, in general, in utter and absolute pain. She had not taken a shower, washed or brushed her hair or teeth, and she wore no make-up but a permanent scowl on her face. Certainly that was unattractive. But what did Alucard think?

To her surprise, Alucard had moved closer to her when those office ladies budged closer to him. She felt his coat brushing against her only to realise he'd now wrapped one of his long, skinny arms around her shoulder, temporarily halting the office ladies in their flirtatious pursuits.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked, when he pulled her up against him. She went 'oof' when she came in contact face-first with his chest as he wrapped his unbuttoned coat around her.

"I sensed a decrease in your body temperature. Fluctuation of temperature in a human is not a good sign." He replied, recalling the many times Integra caught the flu and ordered him around while sneezing and sniffling while trying to maintain a straight face.

Ruby was slightly cold, but did he really have to say it like that? It made him sound so… unfeeling. She wriggled out from him somewhat, "Okay." She said, yet she couldn't help but notice that the office ladies were beginning to back off; she couldn't help but grin. Despite the dirty looks she received from said office ladies, it was a victory for Ruby nonetheless. With another smug, but relieved smile, Ruby waddled a little closer to Alucard who gladly invited her into his embrace.

He rubbed at her arm gently, "Are you warm?"

In response, Ruby smiled lazily and gave a brief nod, "Mm-hm."

Soon, the bus arrived before Ruby could take advantage of her situation and she was first let on because of her injuries. Alucard helped her onto the vehicle with an arm around the shoulder.

He had never been inside a bus before because he never needed to be in one, but now he knew - Buses were a public abomination – they were smelly and dirty and diseased and he was thinking twice why he'd agreed he'd let her take the bus. Ruby didn't seem to mind the conditions, however; she paid the fare and hopped to the very front seat and stared up at Alucard who was now hypnotising the driver into letting him on.

She sighed and shook her head as he strolled in, smirking. The bus driver was now reduced to a hypnotised, grinning mess. "I can't believe you did that. I'm surprised you don't abuse your hypnotic abilities." She said, as he sat down beside her. Immediately, she did a double take and then she remembered; he_ did_ abuse his hypnotic abilities at one point. He hypnotised her into making out with him on the couch...

The sound of Alucard shuffling around brought her out of her thoughts. He was a little too big for the seats; his bent legs practically reached his chin. His coat also leaked out from the edge of the seat and the tiny gap at the back of the seat. She inwardly grimaced and tried to bunch up his coat for him as neatly as she could but Alucard didn't seem to notice. He looked around himself, as if he was in an awkward position, and keenly watched the rest of the passengers pile in before the bus began its journey to central.

"Humans have the tendency to gawp meaninglessly at those who appear different to them." Alucard suddenly said, as the bus stopped at another bus stop, letting more passengers on.

"Yeah, but for many other reasons, too." Ruby said, remembering the office ladies. _They __stared __at __him __because __they __think __he__'__s __hot!_

The bus journey continued. Ruby felt a little nervous. She had never been in broad daylight with Alucard before, and in public, too. "You're close." She squeaked, they were practically shoulder-to-shoulder with one another in the seat.

"Yes," He murmured, watching her from the corner of his eye. He suddenly shifted in his seat so he was now facing her, before he grasped her chin with his hand, tilting her face up to him. She went red when he began brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. "What is the matter, my bride? Are you uncomfortable that there so many onlookers witnessing our affections for each other...? But aren't you aware? During my rule, I adored my women whatever and whenever the opportunity, regardless of spectators."

She really didn't have to know that. Ruby's eye twitched and she quickly inched away from him, "Well, the times are a little different now." She said, yet she sounded a little uneasy herself, "Wait until we get home or something, I don't know, then we can – "

He stared at her as she suddenly went red in the face and began muttering incoherently under her breath, but then, he smirked. "I will hold back until we arrive home. I can't wait to ravish you."

Ruby cringed again, "Please don't say these things in public, Alucard… "

…..

Finally, they had arrived home. After Ruby stuck the keys in and unlocked the door to the apartment complex, Alucard hoisted her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to her apartment with her crutches looped over one arm. She cringed the entire way. It was not pleasant nor was it unpleasant but rather uncomfortable. As soon as they stopped outside the door, he let her down, and, Ruby fished around for her keys again until she felt Alucard leaning over her from behind, his arms encircling around her waist.

"…Alucard?"

He wasn't listening, having decided to nuzzle her neck gently, before he began to plant soft kisses over her nape. Her hands began to shake as she took his affections without any protest.

She inwardly swallowed a lump down her throat_._ She was back home, with Alucard. It would just be them two. And frankly speaking, Alucard was demonstrating that his self restraint was withering. She began to sweat again, as she finally unlocked the door, and opened it slowly with much dread…

And suddenly, the door was rammed shut behind her and Alucard had slammed her to the nearest wall. Ruby's eyes flew wide in surprise when her wrists were pinned to the sides of her head. "A-Alucard?" She squeaked, and when he smirked; she knew she was in for something. What is was exactly, she wasn't quite so sure.

Her answer came when he smashed his lips against hers in a frenzied kiss; Ruby made a helpless, and little, muffled noise as he savaged her lips; he wasn't gentle. She felt him press into her, his arms then moved to encircle around waist to bring her closer despite his iron grip. Alucard paid no attention if he did crush her somewhat, all that mattered was that they were alone and Ruby had finally reciprocated his feelings. The next step was due, and he was not going to wait any longer. Pulling himself away from her for a moment as he remembered his bride was still very human and required precious oxygen which he did not, he watched her flustered face with a grin. He didn't wait for her to speak – the moment would be lost – so he swooped upon her again, plundering her lips with his until he was aware she would emerge from this with swells and bruises.

She gasped, and her hand flew up to his shoulder, clutching tightly. Ruby turned her head to the side for breath again and Alucard concentrated on her neck, this time, using his tongue to lick all the way up from the middle of her throat to her jawline; her mind had gone hazy and numb again. She was also a little frightened, but she didn't know what else to do.

Suddenly, Alucard pulled away. "I think it is time I find out what belongs to me..." He murmured, before his palm crept down and in between her legs. She let out a horrified albeit surprised gasp, her mouth falling open to a large extent at the sudden jolt that had been sent through her body. She whipped her head up to him in shock, as an unfamiliar heat began to arise where he was touching.

"G-Get your hand off t-there!" She stammered, unable to look at him in the eye.

He chuckled, amused by her coyness. He leaned forwards again and put his mouth to her ear, "You are…" He whispered, "Such a _virgin_."

She squirmed, trying to fight the growing blush from spreading across her cheeks. He then grabbed her and peeled her off the wall. "Therefore, I propose we take a shower together." He finished.

"...Eh?"

"Or a bath."

"But – "

"Very well, we'll take a shower _and_ a bath together."

Ruby blinked. _A __bath__…__? __And__…__shower__…__with__…__Alucard_… it slowly registered in her mind. She let out a choked, feeble frog-like croak, her mouth falling open and shut like a fish out of water. She swallowed down noisily and turned away when he smirked at her, blushing furiously as he leaned over and began to kiss her neck, his hand still groping her. She writhed under his grip uncomfortably, fighting the heightened tension and stiffness that had overwhelmed her; to her relief, he let go of her shortly and she relaxed, but the moment was short-lived for he then slid his fingers under the waistband of her pants, sliding his fingers down over her panties to the same spot he had just been occupied with. "A-Ah!" She squeaked out feebly, "No – "

And then the door suddenly opened.

Ruby let out a shriek of "GAH!" and as Alucard let go of her, she frantically ran behind him, peeking out from behind his coat. But then she felt silly when she realised it was - "…M-Mum? Dad?" She squawked.

The woman who had just came in blinked at her. "Darling!" She squealed, "Come here!"

The next thing she knew, Ruby was pried away from Alucard and then enveloped into a bone crushing hug. Alucard watched with an eyebrow raised. This woman was Ruby's mother. And Ruby's mother was called Dahlia. Therefore the old man with Dahlia must be Samuel, Ruby's father. And oh, what a bitter-looking man Samuel seemed. He stormed into the house with a newspaper in hand. He gave the two a fleeting glance then snorted under his breath.

Ruby hastily tidied back her hair, pulled her trousers back up to where they should be on her hips. "W-What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"We came all the way to visit you!"

"U-Um…you guys didn't…didn't happen to…er…see anything, did you?"

"See what?"

Ruby shook her head wildly, "Never mind…H-How did you guys even…?"

Dahlia giggled and wiggled a spare set of keys she took out from her pocket in the air, "This is OUR house, dear; you're not the only one with the keys."

Her jaw hung slack then. How did she forget? Turning to Samuel, she glanced down, scratching at her elbow. "…Oh. Hi dad."

Samuel paid no attention to her.

She made a step towards him, her hand out, but then stopped herself in time, as if she had decided to give up on whatever she had wanted to do.

"Since we're all here…Let's do all sorts of fun things together!" came Dahlia's cheery response. "Let's all go to the seaside!"

"Mum, I'm a bit too old for – "

"Oh my goodness! Ruby…what happened to your foot? And your arm? And your shoulder? What have you been doing to yourself, you silly little girl?"

Ruby emitted a high-pitched, wheezy squeal but said nothing.

"And what kind of shoes are you wearing?"

"…What's wrong with my converses?"

"But it's not the shoes I told you to wear! Converses offer you no heel support whatsoever! Hurry and take those multicoloured atrocities off, dear, hurry up now."

She cringed brilliantly as Alucard snickered.

Finally, Dahlia noticed the tall, dark and handsome stranger who had been standing beside her daughter for those three and a half minutes. "Oh, and who's this? You brought a friend with you!" Dahlia exclaimed, now averting her attention to Alucard. "I didn't know you had a gentleman caller with you…Oh my…what a tall, dark and handsome fellow... And you are…?"

"J. H. Brenner." Alucard replied, and Ruby whirled round to him with her mouth open. He gave her a sideways glance from the corner of his eye, and smirked. "…It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oooh." Dalia cooed, reduced to a giggling schoolgirl when Alucard spoke. "It's nice to meet you too."

_Oh __please._ Ruby cringed once again, when Alucard took Dahlia's hand and kissed it. She raised an eyebrow at his gesture but said nothing. Ruby noticed Alucard was now eyeing her parents with a grin; she knew he was amused by this. "Mother, father, this is…this is…uh…this…is…"

"Fiancé." Alucard finished proudly. "I am Ruby's fiancé."

Ruby winced again. …_Fiancé? __He__'__s __really __pushing __it, __isn__'__t __he?_

"Well, she's fine, Dahlia. We got what we came for; I'll go start the car." Samuel grunted.

"Samuel, we just got here." Dahlia grimaced, frowning at her husband as he stormed past them. She turned to Ruby helplessly, "…Darling, what happened to you?"

Suddenly, Ruby remembered everything the doctor had told her. She began to sweat. "I-It was just an accident. I'll be okay in no time." She muttered.

Dahlia hugged her tightly. "Oh, my poor baby… I'm so glad we came to see you - "

"I didn't." Samuel barked, and Ruby went slightly redder than before. Suddenly all the love had seemingly flitted away from the house.

"Samuel! She's our daughter!"

"Not after she decided to run away. I have no daughter."

"I-I'm going to put the kettle on." Ruby quickly mumbled as she hurried into the kitchen without further ado. The lounge fell silent.

Alucard was left with the in-laws.

He had never really dealt with in-laws before. If he saw a girl in the village he liked, he'd just take her back to his castle on horseback…then maybe later on in the evening, he'd send a messenger to the village to tell the in-laws the good news…maybe give them a gift…like some grain, or a pig or a cow. But in this modern era…?

"…Pardon me, Mr Ashcroft, for… intruding into your familial concerns," He said, "You may be my beloved's father…but I will not tolerate anyone who speaks to her as so." Yes, he may be the father, and the one who played a part in bringing his bride into this world, but that still did not give him the right to talk to anyone like that.

Samuel didn't look pleased at all. He raised a grey bushy eyebrow at him, "Ohhh, you think you're a tough guy, don't you?" He barked out, "Well, mark my words, you lecherous Romeo – "

Dahlia interrupted quickly, "Samuel! Stop it!"

He snorted again, but listened to his wife and then grunted: "Feh. Whoever that girl is dating is not of my concern! You can do whatever you want! Date her, marry her, elope, I don't care!"

Acceptance from one of the in-laws already? That was easier than he thought.

Dahlia reprimanded him furiously again and Samuel was left a mumbling and grumbling old wreck who retreated back onto the couch in the corner. Then she turned haplessly to Alucard, "…Don't mind him, he's just…er…I…I'm so sorry you have to see this, Mr Brenner. First things first – I'd like to find out - _How __did __you __meet __Ruby_?"

Ruby heard all the commotion from the kitchen as she was looking for cups and perked up immediately.

"At the hospital." Alucard had said. In the next minute, he'd be making up the most tackiest, cheesiest, cringe-worthy, ludicrous piece of fiction that he, the almighty undead No-Life King, could ever come up with, "Ruby was my nurse. She did a wonderful job of nursing me back to health from my horrific car crash. I simply fell in love with her; the care and kindness she showed me during my recuperation phase was outstanding. I had to re-learn all the human basics, from walking to running, and later, I proposed I take darling Ruby out for dinner and she agreed."

Samuel made a noise and turned away while Dahlia inhaled it all without question. "Oh, that's so romantic…how wonderful!"

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Ruby wondered if Alucard had really spewed all that out. Apparently he did. Of course…how they truly met wasn't as romantic as that, nor was it romantic at all. No, all Ruby remembered was getting blood and monster guts all over her that particular night. Nothing romantic about that. Or wonderful. Ruby lowered her head down to the floor with a defeated sigh.

Alucard chuckled, "Excuse me, I will check up on Ruby."

"Oh, yes, you go do that, Mr Brenner." Dahlia returned to her husband's side, watching Alucard disappear into the kitchen. Then she leaned over to Samuel and whispered, "He's charming, but I think he's a little too old for Ruby. Did you see his teeth? I've never seen someone with such sharp teeth before in my life. Good grief!"

Back in the kitchen, Ruby was waiting for the kettle to finish boiling and was now struggling to reach a bunch of teaspoons on a high cabinet overhead. Alucard stepped inside, saw what she was doing, and he marched forwards, stopped behind her, and reached up, her back against his chest, and he grabbed the teapoons out of the cupboard which she had been struggling to reach. She gasped as soon as she noticed their close proximity and turned round immediately only to see Alucard mere milimetres from her face. "Ah! I didn't hear you come in...You're so silent...You're like a ninja or something."

He handed her the teaspoons. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm, like, totally fine," And when she said that he did not think she was fine at all. She added, "It's okay, I don't think…you know, back there…I don't think they saw anything."

Alucard suddenly seized her and pinned her against the fridge subsequently; she squeaked and dropped her spoons. "Would you like them to see what our relationship exactly is?" He purred, before he reached over and began nipping at her neck teasingly.

Her face went bright red and she flushed. "What? N-No! My PARENTS are _here! _I can't you believe you even just said that!" She barked. He chuckled in response and let go of her; Ruby rubbed at her wrists, then quickly picked the spoons back up off the ground and sighed. "…I didn't even know they were coming. Sorry. And…I'm sorry about my dad. He's just… angry. It's his work. It's very stressful and I read about it in my modules once, it's a psychological thing, how sometimes people channel their negative energies onto someone without realising or wanting to but - "

She continued to ramble, and he gestured to her that he didn't mind.

Ruby smiled at him reassuringly, then moved to the cupboard and mumbled absent-mindedly, "But…It's kind of hard to believe they're doctors, right?"

"Not necessarily."

"…Sometimes I don't even think they're my parents. I mean, I just woke up one day and suddenly they were there." And then - "By the way, what's up with J. H Brenner?"

He knew she would ask him that question. "My human alias. My Master thought it up for me should I find myself in these…situations."

"What does the J and the H stand for?"

"Anything." Alucard replied, "And what exactly happened between you and your father?"

She grimaced. It took her quite a while for her to respond, before she finally said, "…I've…I've never really got on well with –

_- Dad?"_

_Ruby couldn't find him anywhere in the house. Clutching her Fabulous Nurse Barbie in one tiny hand, she bravely tackled the steeps stairs of her house one by one, gripping onto the banister for support. It was night and she had woken up from her fever, cold and thirsty. Calling for mum and dad didn't help so she climbed out of her bed herself._

_She arrived downstairs into the lounge to see the television on, but switched to a low volume. A talk show was playing, but she didn't understand it. Mum was on the armchair, sleeping. Ruby went up to her and shook her arm a few times, but mum didn't wake up except mumble in her sleep and turn away from her._

"_Dad? Where are you?"_

_A noise from the kitchen caught her attention, and she moved away from mum, fell over a little over her clumsy, weak legs before curiously waddling over to the kitchen where she prodded open the door with a finger. The door squeaked open but there was nobody inside._

_The noise came again – it was a low 'thud' now and then – and Ruby determined the source to be coming from the basement. But she had never been allowed in the basement before – not that she wanted to go there, anyway. Mum told her it was dark and scary and had monsters. Nevertheless, Ruby opened the door that led further downstairs and stared down at the staircase that led to the basement, which was locked by another door._

_But this door was open._

_And the basement light was on. Ruby climbed down the staircase to the basement, wondering if she should head back into the living room or not. However, she soon found herself arriving at the landing, and she stared into the basement. It wasn't dark and scary at all. No, in fact…there was a desk…and there was a chair…a light attached from the ceiling…a whiteboard on the wall with words she did not understand…photographs…newspaper clippings…_

"_**Ruby**?"_

_She screamed and turned to the sound. "…Dad?"_

_He stormed up to her from under the shadows where the light did not cover and stepped in front of her, blocking the lamp. Dad was a huge, terrifying blurry black shadow. "What are you doing here? Get out!"_

"_I-I was looking for you, dad – "_

"_How many times do I have to tell you not to come down here? Get out, now!"_

_She was too scared to move._

"_GET OUT!"_

_Ruby turned on her heel and ran, ran back up the stairs, frightened. As soon as she reached the kitchen, she watched Samuel storm over, pointing and shouting at her from the doorway. She had never seen him so livid; she was terrified._

"_And stay out!" He was yelling, "You stay out of there, you little –_

"Ruby?"

She snapped out of her nostalgic reminiscences of a disturbed childhood and turned to Alucard, then quickly recollected herself and cleared her throat, now immersing herself in cleaning and wiping the teaspoons clean with a teatowel, "They didn't want me to become a nurse. But I had already passed the exam and I already had accommodation sussed out, so I just hit the road and did a runner."

"And now you have incurred the wrath of your father."

"Yeah." She reached over into the utensils cupboard and picked up two bags of earl grey tea from a small box next to a mouldy loaf of bread, "They can be…suffocating - "

As if on cue, Dahlia's voice swam into the house: "Oh Ruby? Ruuuuuuby? What is that box on your floor? Is it those instant cup noodles again? How many have you eaten? How many times do I need to tell you that the flavourings from those instant noodles will give you constipation?"

Mortified, Ruby let out a wail. "MUM!" She whined, while Alucard looked as though he couldn't contain his amusement any longer. Ruby sniffed slightly, " - And not to mention, they're embarrassing. Well, my mum is. By the way, I don't get…um… instant noodles don't have that effect on me. Not anymore."

Alucard followed her as she scooped the tray and stepped out of the kitchen. Ruby stopped to see both her parents standing up in the lounge with their coats on. Samuel was already tying his shoes. "…Mum?"

"Oh, Ruby, I'm – we're sorry, but… the hospital just paged us. We're needed back now."

With the tray with the cups of tea and the milk and sugar in hand, Ruby shifted a little uncomfortably on her spot. "…Oh." She put the tray down, went to the door and unlocked it, then held it open.

Samuel was the first to leave. He was marching down the staircase and out of the building in a matter of seconds. Ruby watched him, a little forlornly, but said nothing as she watched his retreating back. She turned back to her mother, her eyebrows tilting wistfully. "Ruby, I really am sorry." Dahlia said, "Get better soon, I'll come and visit you again." Then she whispered – "_With __or __without __your __father_."

"…Sure." Dahlia hugged her daughter before shaking Alucard's hand thoroughly.

"And it was a pleasure to meet you too, Mr Brenner. I do hope we could go to the seaside one day. You two take care; look after one another - Have you read the news? Tonnes of people are going missing everyday all across the country…" Then she hurriedly followed her husband, and Ruby shut the door and locked it.

She looked up when she realised Alucard was now watching her. "…What?"

"I do not think it is wise for a child to abhor their own parents."

Ruby pouted somewhat. "I don't hate my parents. It's just…they leave me by myself a lot, and I got used to them leaving me and stuff. They're doctors. They're always being called away." She said, with a shrug of her shoulders, "Well, those clothes in the bathroom aren't going to wash themselves."

Without another word, Ruby hobbled away from the door limped to the bathroom. He followed her, only to see that she was now trying to handwash some dirty laundry she had left over the bathtub's side. She balanced on one crutch, while letting go of one to grab a bucket, lean over and open the tap, before bending down to get the washing powder from underneath the sink.

"Ruby, what are you doing?"

"If you haven't noticed, I have a lot of stuff to do; that's the downside of living by yourself. Ever since I went Hellsing, the apartment's become a mess. There's so many things to do, so little time." She said quickly, without looking at him. She hastily dumped the clothes into the bucket and let them soak for the time being, then hobbled back out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where she began to pile dirty pieces of cutlery into the sink before opening the tap to fill it up with hot water. "It's just…a bit harder to do with a broken ankle, that's all."

He crossed his arms leanly, "Ruby, you just returned home. You haven't had a break."

"Yes, but there's tonnes of stuff for me to do. And after I wash the dishes, I need to hang the laundry and then hoover the floor because it's all dusty and – "

Alucard grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up into the air in seconds, and carried her back into the lounge despite her protests. She flailed around, frowning at him as he sat down on the sofa before allowing her to slowly sink into his lap. "You must rest."

She lifted herself to sit back up, "Alucard…"

"Rest, my bride." He said, hauling her back into his arms whilst reaching out to stroke her hair. "Humans have limits. I do not want you to push yourself."

"…But I really have to – "

"Shhh…" He moved himself backwards to lay flat on the sofa, bringing Ruby down to lay on top of him. The apartment fell silent when she found herself resting over him awkwardly, her broken ankle hanging over the sofa edge. He gently brushed a few strands of hair from her face and petted her. In response, Ruby yawned loudly. She hadn't had any sleep since she started the graveyard shift at the hospital. Eventually, she made herself comfortable so that her head was resting over his chest, her arms huddled tightly to herself. She felt his other hand settle down to wrap snugly around her waist. He asked, "Comfortable?"

She nodded. "Yeah..." Relaxing against him completely, she drifted off…

On the other hand, Alucard was still stroking her hair, "You need to rest." He murmured, "And if I remembered correctly… We have some unfinished business…"

No response.

He glanced down. Her eyes were closed; he raised an eyebrow, then ultimately realised she'd already fallen asleep and was now snoring lightly. Alucard turned away with a shake of his head, then slid his gaze back to Ruby. He tilted his head to the side, watching her sleep peacefully, before he began to slip his fingers under the front of her sweater. In response, Ruby's face scrunched up under his touch but all she did was wriggle and groan and try to swat his hand away, then returned back to drooling over his chest. He grinned.

Just because she was asleep didn't mean it would stop him from finding out what belonged to him…


	17. Skinship

The reason this chapter is 17 because I merged Mad Man and Yellow Brick Road together.

**Warning: **...OOC(?) This a big fluffy chapter. There's lime, and Alucard gets naked. Twice.

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><p><em>Skinship<em>

A sharp nip woke her up and Ruby glanced down to see Alucard's face buried in between her breasts.

Her blood went cold for a split second and her hand instinctively curled, forming a shaking, but clenched fist. "And WHAT exactly do you think you are doing?"

Alucard flicked his crimson eyes up to her lazily. He had been biting at the skin there and she immediately swatted him away, pulling her sweater back over herself. He grinned at her in response and wiped at his mouth, "You have awakened."

"YES." She growled. "Yes I have." Her eyebrow rose so high that it disappeared under her bangs as her shaking fist clenched further; her knuckles cracking and turning white in progress.

"I told you I wanted to find out what belonged to me."

"Yeah, when I sleeping and compliant." However, she discovered that no matter how much she wanted to, she simply could not bring herself to hate him or feel any other strong, unfavourable emotion towards him anymore. Instead, her cheeks went bright red and she pushed back on her elbows to sit up on the sofa, Alucard following.

The dull, almost indistinct pain on her chest was something she would have to check up later. "…What time is it anyway…?" She mumbled, rubbing at her temples. The clock on the wall said it was roughly half seven in the evening. She'd slept through the entire afternoon. It was time to prepare for dinner but she felt far too weary to cook something. Not even a microwaveable lasagne that would only take 3 seconds of her precious time to cook was enough to make her get off the couch. She mentally argued her case that she did not feel hungry and all she wanted to do was take a shower and then go straight back to bed.

"You should eat." Alucard advised, as she stood up from the sofa.

She placed her hands on her hips and turned to him, "No, I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed – " She said, but when she saw that the grin on his face had widened considerably, she squinted her eye at him suspiciously; this only caused him to smirk even wider than before, "I know that look. I don't like that look. It means you're thinking of something perverted. Don't get any ideas; you're not taking a shower with me."

Without another word she quickly hobbled to her bedroom and switched on the lamp, letting a dim, tawny glow flood into the room. He followed her eagerly, and she was about to reprimand him for not listening to her but to her surprise, he had then settled himself down on the edge of her bed, and looked up at her expectantly.

Ruby blinked back at him numbly, but sensing that he was actually respecting her wishes, she grabbed clean underwear along with her pyjamas from her closet, and limped inside to the adjoining bathroom. Before she shut the door, she poked her head back out. "And remember, no coming in, no materialising through the door, no peeping in general. Or I will be very, very angry, and you would not like that, okay? Good."

Then the door slammed shut.

Alucard took this time to look around her room in more detail compared to the last time he was here. Her bed sat in the middle, with two small bedside tables on each side. An acoustic guitar was hidden behind one of them along with a football. Atop the medium-height closet, Alucard also noticed the photographs propped up contained no photos of Samuel, and only photos of Ruby, either with or without her mother.

He went through them; a photo depicted Ruby's birthday. He turned the frame behind where it said in gold marker pen '_TENTH __BIRTHDAY__'_. He replaced it and went through the rest; following the 10th birthday was a photo showing a seaside landscape where Ruby was eating ice cream with Dahlia. It said '_Newcastle_' on the back. He picked another frame up; there was a photo of a little Ruby with a gentle-looking, smiling woman he had never seen before. The woman had chestnut brown hair and light grey eyes, he determined, from such a tiny portrait.

Turning the photo frame around, it said '_MARY_'.

…..

Back in the bathroom, Ruby looked around herself uneasily, then began to undress herself after a few minutes or so. She was waiting, in case Alucard would catch her by surprise by drifting in through the mirror or any other part of the bathroom but he didn't. She then mentally berated herself for thinking Alucard that way; the vampire wasn't immature to do things like that. With that in mind, she continued to undress. When she removed her sweater, she rubbed over the bite mark he'd inflicted on her where the skin was now reddening thoroughly.

Wondering what else he may have done to her while she was asleep, she quickly checked the rest of herself but everything seemed fine (or so she thought). She shrugged and hopped into the bath. After her relaxing shower, she towelled off and changed inside, then spent a good fifteen minutes or so redoing the dressing for her broken ankle. It felt frail and brittle, and she sighed. Now that she was off practical work for a good three or four months, it meant she would miss out on a lot of coursework. Perhaps they wouldn't allow her to move onto her second year. Maybe she would have re-sit her entire first year once again.

Placing depressing thoughts aside, Ruby left the steaming bathroom, wiping at her forehead with her towel and settled her gaze onto the figure waiting patiently, sitting on the edge of her bed directly in front of her.

The vampire sat in a rather inviting position, with his legs spread out as he leant forwards, his back hunched with an elbow resting on one knee, the hand supporting his chin. His coat was hanging on one of the hooks beside her jacket; she had never seen him without his coat off, needless to say. Nor had she really seen much of his flesh except from his face and neck… he wore gloves over his hands and she had never seen him remove his shoes either. His casual, dressed-down demeanour was rather…refreshing, to say the least.

Alucard lifted his hand away from under his chin and beckoned her with a lulling hook motion of his finger. "Come here."

Immediately, Ruby stiffened up all over on the spot. "Uh…actually, I-I just remembered I left something in the bathroom… I'll be right back…" She reached over and grabbed her phone she had left on the bedside table then hastily limped back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Cold sweat began to form on her forehead. Without hesitating any longer, she flipped her phone open, accessed the phonebook and scrolled down to a particular phone number. _Well__…__I __really __didn__'__t __want __to __do __this, __but __here __goes __nothing. _Ruby closed her eyes when she pressed on the 'Call' button and listened intently as the phone began to engage.

"Ahoy-hoy."

"…Huh?" She said, "Sorry, I think I've got the wrong number…"

"No, silly, it's me. Didn't you know? Alexander Graham Bell wanted everyone to greet each other like that when the phone was invented!" A familiar voice drawled cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Gwen, I need your help."

"What is it?"

It was nice hearing Gwen's not-so-drunk voice for a change. Ruby whispered in an uncomfortable manner, cupping a hand over her mouth and the phone just incase he would hear, "It's Alucard…I think he's staying in my house. And wanting to…stay in my… bedroom."

There was a brief silence and then -

"Ohohohoho! You want tips on _POSITIONS,_ don't you?"

"What? NO! And did you really have to yell that out? I just… I don't know what to do, I mean, a man has never been in my room before and – " However, the phone was plucked out from her hands and she glanced up to see that Alucard was now standing beside her, having materialised through the mirror. "Eep." She squeaked out as Alucard grinned; he placed her phone against his ear.

"If Ruby wishes to learn anything, she will be learning from _**me **_and not you." He hung up - Gwen could be heard shrieking something incoherently before the dial tone went dead. Alucard turned to Ruby and handed her back her phone, watching all the colour drain from her face as he towered over her in the bathroom. "Why were you phoning that ridiculous, pitiful excuse for a human being?"

"I…er…" Ruby ended her pitiful sentence with a shrug.

As Ruby continued to blink numbly up at him, he glanced around. "Since we're here, we may as well take a shower together."

"…But I've just showered."

He raised an eyebrow at her remark. "You can shower _again_."

There was no underlying, universal law to the number of showers one could take in a day, but Ruby winced, her face flushing immediately. She shrunk into her nightshirt and spluttered and stumbled helplessly while cradling her hands to herself defensively, "…I-I-I-I-I'm not taking a shower with you…"

But he was already removing his clothes.

She looked away embarrassedly with an evident grimace as Alucard removed his cravat first, then neatly rid himself of his charcoal waistcoat, followed by his shirt. She closed her eyes when she heard his belt being unbuckled; it clattered to the floor with a 'thunk'. Next, he yanked off his boots and slacks. She heard him step into her bath and turned away, facing the wall with the flannel hooks, toothbrush holder and shaver socket.

"…I didn't know vampires took showers." She mumbled, her eyes squeezed shut as she then heard the shower switching on.

"Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I neglect my own hygiene." He replied.

"Yeah, but…" Ruby hurriedly groped the floor for his clothes and placed them atop a clean and dry section of the counter and returned to the door, fumbling around to find the doorknob still with her eyes clamped shut.

"What are you waiting for, my bride? Hurry up and take off your clothes and join me this instant or shall I remove your clothes for you?"

She could literally hear him grinning, and with a shriek of "NOOOOOO!" her fingers landed on the knob eventually, and she twisted it and jerked open the door, limping out of the bathroom with Alucard's laughter following her out.

….

A few minutes later, Alucard emerged from the bathroom re-dressed in his shirts and slacks, much to Ruby's relief. Ruby had dropped herself over the bed and was lying flat on her back to stare at the ceiling for the time being until she heard the door re-open. She sat up abruptly as he strode past her, to rifle through her closet.

She waddled over and stopped beside him, "What are you doing? Stop going through my things…"

He pulled out a wine-red silk nightgown with thin, string-like straps from one of her cupboards. "Put this on. I would like to see you in silk."

She cringed. It didn't even look like it would fit her. The thing was… tiny…flimsy…lacy…undoubtedly raunchy…as if the label on the hem that said '_Agent __Provocateur_' was any indicator of its manufacturing origins and underlying purpose. Ruby didn't even remember buying that. Oh wait…Gwen got it for her birthday and Ruby had a policy not to throw birthday gifts away. No matter how horrid or inadequate. "I'm not going to wear that. It won't even fit me. Put it back, Alucard…_Please_?"

To her horror, his hand shot out and landed over her right breast. Ruby's blood turned cold again. "Stop that!" She roared at him, her cheeks reddening all over again.

He let go and grinned as she glowered at him. "I'm quite certain this will fit you."

She tugged the nightgown free from his grip, then buried the wretched thing into the dirty laundry pile without hesitating any longer. It was time for a normal conversation. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat, "…So…you're staying here tonight."

He smirked in response as he returned to the bed, dragging her with him by the wrist. "Yes. My master allowed it."

"Really? Even though…well…with all these things going on? Shouldn't you be out looking for the culprits?"

"Master has ordered me to stand down for the time being, while she and Morris commence some paperwork research." He replied, "She does not like to step foot into what she does not know. I recommended for careful, tactical and strategic planning; Walter and Morris seconded my notion. I will return to Hellsing at dawn."

"Alright." She murmured, rubbing her chin. "Wait a minute… Do vampires need to sleep too?"

"Yes, we do."

"Oh… I didn't know that."

"You do now."

"Alright, you can sleep on the sofa." She slid off the bed to fetch a spare duvet and pillow for him from her wardrobe only for Alucard to wrap an arm around her waist and in seconds, she was back on the bed in his lap with her back to his chest.

"No," he murmured, "I will be sleeping here beside you."

She made a noise that didn't make sense. "Okay, okay! Take the bed – and I'll go sleep on the sofa!" Ruby tried to wriggle away from him but his grip on her tightened.

"No-one's sleeping on the sofa tonight." He murmured, before he leaned down and placed a kiss at the base of her neck near her shoulder, his lips working over her skin gently.

Her heart began beating at a heightened pace when his lips slid lower over her flesh, before he began pulling at the collar of her buttoned shirt to expose her collarbone. "L-Let's talk first, b-before we sleep." She stuttered out.

"No."

"Then let's have hot chocolate."

"No."

"Let's listen to some soothing, relaxing radio."

"No."

"Watch a movie?"

"…Movie?"

"Y-Yeah! A movie. You can pick. Don't worry, I returned all the vampire movies I rented back to the Blockbuster store."

"Tempting, but no."

She was starting to sound frantic as he reached over and switched off the lamp, encasing them in darkness. "L-Let's read a book!"

"_No_." He asserted, and Ruby whimpered. "We are, and will be, _sleeping_."

She thought vampires slept in coffins. Maybe Alucard was making an exception this time… Ruby blinked wide-eyed in the darkness, her eyes adjusting slowly but surely. He lowered them to lie on the mattress, and she glanced up, only to see gleaming teeth grinning under the tiny crack of moonlight escaping into the room from the slit between the curtain and window.

There was the sound of the tussle of covers. She could feel him leaning over her; his cravat tickled her nose as Ruby fumbled around under the covers beside him, trying to get comfortable. She was too sleepy to try and push him away when he moved to lie on his side to her right. Her breath lodged in her throat; he was very close. She could feel his hair tickling her forehead, and his noiseless breaths over her cheeks. It was possibly a good thing she could not see him in the darkness. Alucard fished around for her hand under the covers, and weaved his long fingers in between her smaller ones. Her bed was also far too small; he took up almost three quarters; Ruby was shoved to the edge and almost fell off, if he had not scooped her back up by wrapping an arm around her waist. He bent down to nuzzle at her neck affectionately. She could see Alucard's silhouette, and when he cuddled her… it felt… nice…

She felt him brush a few strands of her hair away from her face before his other arm slid under the back of her head, bringing her further into his embrace. "Are you comfortable, my bride?"

Ruby nodded stiffly. He grinned again and leant over to nibble at her ear; she felt his lips on the shell of her ear, nipping at it affectionately, and she shivered slightly but nevertheless, lay very still, letting him do whatever he was doing. "I'm glad you're here, actually. If it was just me in this house all by myself, I'll be a little scared."

"Oh, you're still afraid of the dark? How cute." He mused, "There is nothing to fear, my bride. Nothing will bring to harm to you, not when I am with you."

That was reassuring to hear. She blinked at him for a few seconds, then smiled nervously. This would be the first time she smiled at him although she wasn't sure if he had seen in the dark. "…You know…Mr Morris said that women were your passion." She mumbled out despondently.

He chuckled in response and traced his finger down her nose before flicking playfully. "You are my passion now, Ruby. I crave no other woman but you." He replied, as she pouted at him and rubbed at her nose. "In fact, I…It pains me that I cannot spoil you as much as I could. I was once a Prince. A high ruler. Voivode of Wallachia. I could have given you everything you wanted: diamonds, emeralds, rubies."

She blinked. "…Alucard, I don't need stuff like that." Then she closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep until he suddenly sat up. She re-opened one eye when she heard restlessly shifting and shuffling around. "…What are you doing?"

Her answer came when suddenly, his naked chest was pressed against her and she jerked roughly in her spot by the surprise skin contact. "Why did you take your shirt off?" She squawked, as he continued to loom over her, his long hair tickling her cheeks.

"We are sleeping together, my bride. And my clothes were preventing me from getting closer to you."

It was her earnest wish that he wouldn't be so…blunt. And when he had pounced on top of her, pinning her wrists to the sides of her head, she knew he meant business. "Th-That still doesn't mean you have to take your shirt off."

Her face went beet red like crazy; she now had a half-naked vampire in her bed. Biting down on her lip, Ruby slowly sunk under the covers and inched away. However, any attempts to get away from him as far as possible in the bed were thwarted when he pulled her back into him, and her back pressed up against him tighter than she had wanted. Even though he had no heartbeat, his chest rose up and down steadily as he breathed.

In another desperate attempt, Ruby tried to roll to the side but he spread her legs by expertly using his own knees to keep them apart. Ruby squeaked again, hating her current predicament and the compromising position. Her breath hitched in her throat when she realised she was stuck in his hold, their faces almost touching. She closed her eyes before beginning to wriggle and wail and flail in his grip. Her heartbeat escalated to a feverish rate once more. And she began shaking.

"As much as your reticence amuses me, you must realise my patience is wearing thin, Ruby," Alucard said, before he pressed his ear against her chest. Almost immediately, Ruby stopped squirming and threw her gaze down to him. "Your heart is beating so fast…" He murmured, his silky voice sending shivers down her spine as he listened to her heart beat. "…Why must you be so nervous around me? Are you still afraid I might harm you?"

Ruby shook her head but tensed up all over when he sat up and pulled her legs up over his, making her sit upright in his lap. Hiding her shame and embarrassment, she could only close her eyes and hunch up all over like a turtle retreating into its shell. As she continued to hunch and bunch, she stiffened when she felt his hands feeling around the buttons of her pyjamas. "No…don't…" She tried to push his hand away, only to have him grab her hand.

But he let go of her hand as soon as he caught it, and instead, seized hold of both sides of her face instead. Ruby blinked when he lifted her face up to him and pressed his lips against hers roughly before breaking off. She was left gasping, her lips tingling. "I said no – "

She was cut off by another harsh kiss.

"Alucard – "

Again, she was interrupted by the vampire planting his lips over hers assertively. She fought him, thrashing slightly - to no avail - and he pinned her back over the mattress and caged her within him, his elbows resting on each side of her head. But as his lips worked over the corners of her mouth, she ceased her futile struggling and her flailing legs gradually fell limp. She began to tentatively respond, fuelling his lust. Her hands moved anxiously to rest behind his neck; he grinned against her mouth and brought himself down closer to her, then proceeded to kiss her sensually as he grinded against her suggestively, coaxing a muffled, surprised response from her. Ruby fought for some kind of control, yet she only found herself suddenly lying on top of him, having switched positions on the bed. She pulled away from him, realising her awkward situation and tried to climb off him but was apprehended by his arms sliding around her waist before he reached up to capture her lips again hungrily with no intention of letting go. When they finally broke apart, she flopped back against the bed, blinking up at him wide-eyed and slightly dazed.

For a long moment, they merely stared at each other in the darkness.

Her heart was gradually returning to its normal pace…He listened carefully…and soon, he loosened his grip on her face, his hands sliding down to her neck, before they landed on her shoulders, massaging gently.

"…I will remove your shirt now." He told her as he hovered above her, his hand landing back on the button he had been trying to unfasten.

Ruby lay very still underneath him, staring numbly at the ceiling. She began to worry, and nervously slid her gaze to him, watching him unhook the first button. Then the other, and the one after that, and the other, her eyes never leaving his lithe fingers expertly unhooking each button. Why was she letting him? Why wasn't she screaming or kicking and yelling as she usually would? He hadn't hypnotised her, although she thought he had. But he hadn't. He didn't. Instead, Alucard merely…looked at her, and she felt…calm.

Finally, he undid the last button of her shirt. She felt the fabric fall apart to her sides, and she whimpered, uncomfortable with the fact that she was now just in her vest. She only had two layers on – said vest and the shirt he'd just unbuttoned. Thank goodness he hadn't moved onto her trousers… all he concentrated on was her upper body…He made her sit back up in the bed, then lifted off her vest, pulling it over her arms…

Heat rose to her cheeks immediately when she realised she was now half-naked and she instantly grabbed the pillow, clutching it to herself while blushing profusely. So awkward. It was so very awkward indeed.

He tossed her clothes to the side, and she heard him chuckle again; the pillow was then gently pried away from her hands. She whimpered that he'd deprived her of her temporary shield, until he spooned her into his arms. His skin was cold, like ice. Shivering slightly, she sagged against his chest in an awkward fashion, her cheek pasted against the side of his neck. She felt him shudder, his muscles tensing up, as if the contact of their skin had sent jolts down every fibre of his wellbeing. He closed his eyes and held onto her so securely she couldn't breathe, his hands trailing over the curves of her upper body.

"Touch me."

A fierce blush appeared on her cheeks. "…W-Wh…where…?"

"Anywhere."

She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and shivered involuntarily again under his lithe fingertips as he continued to stroke the sinewy arch of her back. "Your skin's bumpy." She croaked out.

"Scars." He murmured, his lips pressed against her ear.

She gazed off to the side. "…For a vampire, you're really cold."

"For a human, you are very warm."

He squeezed her tightly, and she bit down on her lip as his arms crushed around her. "Hey…wait a minute… humans have to be virgins to become vampires. You're not thinking…"

"Of course not."

"…Why?"

"I will only turn you, when you ask." He replied, "…_If_ you ask."

"…So…now what?"

"What would you like me to do to you?" He purred. "We have _all _night."


	18. That Big Black 8 Eyed Dog called Butch

Thanks for reviewing! This is an inevitable chapter. Anyone who has been awaiting for Anderson's appearance in my story with baited breath – your wait has not been in vain!

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><p><em>That Big, Black, Eight-Eyed Dog called Butch<em>

"O salutaris Hostia, Quae caeli pandis ostium: Bella premunt hostilia, Da robur, fer auxilium. Uni trinoque Domino Sit sempiterna gloria, Qui vitam sine termino Nobis donet in patria. Amen."

The church was alit with harmonious prayer from the clergymen. However, the peaceful ambience was disturbed by heavy, but quick footsteps trampling into the antechamber.

"Father!" exclaimed the messenger boy, "Father Anderson?"

The kind-looking priest who was standing at the altar in front of a prayer book glanced over as the messenger stopped at the foot of the podium. "Wha' be th' problem that you're raisin' yer voice in an establishment o' holy sanctum?" He said, in a thick brogue, noticing how flustered the youth was.

"Father, this just came in today from Mr Maxwell."

The kind man accepted the manila folder from the messenger, smiled at him and thanked him, then averted his attention back to the folder in hand. Father Anderson opened the folder without further ado and pulled out several photographs. It was photographs of a young girl, with brown hair and blue eyes.

The messenger boy rummaged around in his bag and protruded out a sealed envelope, "This was sent, too."

Anderson took the envelope, opened it and pulled out the letter inside that said: _THE DEMON HAS A NEW WHORE_. Immediately, his face scrunched up in anger and he gnashed his teeth together in a furious snarl. "What is the meaning o' this?" He roared out.

"Father, you won't let this matter slip by, will you?"

Anderson turned to him, and then his lips spread into a wide grin before he cackled with maniacal laughter, "O' course not! Cannae have that unholy demon fornicatin' with a human an' makin' wee vampire bairns – " He stopped laughing, his expression darkening in seconds, "I'll kill her. Poor wee soul…She needs tae be freed…tae be saved by our almighty god. I will see it tae maself personally. Amen."

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><p><strong>England.<strong>

"We're in the news again, sir." Ermen stated as he folded open the newspaper to its fullest. "Front page."

The headlines said: MISSING NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND NEVER-ENDING.

"Humans get so worked up when little things like these happen." Caelum replied half-heartedly, as he turned to his associate; Ermenrich was an intimidating man gifted with a tall height and a burly and brawny, physical stature, his biceps hidden under the material of a chalkstripe suit where its seams were splitting with protest at the joints. He added, "If soldiers went missing, no-one would really care."

They stood side-by-side in the warehouse with fluorescent builder's helmets strapped to their heads, which completely clashed with their businessmen suit-attire as they watched warehouse workers transport cargo load after cargo load using their forklift trucks. The cargo were large boxes made out of corrugated steel, locked with dozens of padlocks. At least twenty were still to be moved to the awaiting cargo ship outside in the pier.

"It's always so much trouble." Caelum said as he adjusted his helmet, whilst Ermen protruded out a clipboard that he had clutched under his arm and began ticking off boxes. "This is the last time I'm hosting this tournament. It's annoying."

"But this is tradition, sir. Like Thanksgiving, only for vampires."

"Don't compare the tournament to a human commemoration, Ermen. If you haven't noticed; we have bigger problems."

He pondered for a short while, "True, sir. Luther spotted Alexander Anderson lurking around England today. He probably went after Alucard's mate." Ermen replied, "That's good; we need a distraction. But what's so special about Alucard's mate anyway?"

"She is the one woman in this world Alucard absolutely cannot possess, no matter what. That's all you need to know about Ruby Ashcroft."

"...Why is that?"

Caelum turned to his subordinate, and smirked. "It's a long story. What I'm most surprised about is how trusting Hellsing is."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

Ruby woke up the next day (wth her shirt on), groggy and frowning because she could not sleep until halfway into the night even though Alucard was with her. She blamed her insomnia to the fact that she had never shared a bed with someone before and she wasn't used to it. She also realised Alucard was once again nowhere to be seen in her house. He must have returned to Hellsing.

Once again, Ruby perceived this a good thing so as to avoid the awkward morning-after conversations. She tidied her bed and then waddled into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, blushing the entire time as she stared at her hickey-infested neck in the mirror as she remembered what exactly had happened last night, but then her stomach grumbled loudly and she focused on feeding herself; she limped to the kitchen, over to the fridge. To her dismay, everything was past its expiration date.

_Hmm, but that cheese… I could still eat the cheese, it's not as green as everything else, I – Nope, gotta stop thinking like that…_

She quickly changed into her everyday casual wear and left the house after carefully dressing her ankle with a new bandage. Shopping at the local supermarket took about forty minutes; it wasn't hard to think about what she wanted, and a grocery list she made before helped speed things up. It was just harder now that she had crutches. She left, struggling with three bags – two in one hand and another in her other hand – while still balancing on crutches.

She hobbled down the street, going at an even slower rate than a granny sitting on her electronic wheelchair. Ruby watched the old lady drive past her; her growing abhorrence for herself and her sheer helplessness was accumulating.

And then her crutch accidentally caught into one of the gaping gaps of a large manhole in the road as she was about to cross and she roared in frustration. "RARRRRGH GODDAMNIT!" She grunted, wrestling with the stuck crutch. She sincerely believed life had a vendetta against her at certain moments.

However, a teenager clutching a skateboard went to her aid immediately and bent down to haul the crutch out of the gutter.

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome."

Ruby's eyes widened when she realised it was none other than Joshua; he was in a clean set of clothes – a checkered-pattern yellow and black hoodie with dark denims and sneakers; however he still looked rather dishevelled and weary. "J-Joshua?" She managed to splutter out, and he pulled his hood over his head and began to sidle away. "Hey, where are you going?"

The dracul crossed the road without even looking left and right. "Don't follow me."

She looked frantically for any cars, and when there were none, she hurriedly followed him, trying to keep up with his fast pace with her crutches and shopping bags. "What are you doing here? How are you feeling? A-are you still hurt?"

"You should be more worried about yourself." He muttered, walking a little faster. She began to fall behind.

"Joshua, please stop!"

He stopped – to her surprise. Panting heavily, Ruby hopped over to him again and stopped by his left. She held her hand up indicating she was attempting to catch her breath and would appreciate it if he didn't use this chance to leave again. "…_gasp_…Joshua, let's…_gasp_…talk…" She croaked out in between heavy breaths.

Joshua frowned, then glanced away, his dark hair falling over one bottle green eye. One would hardly believe he was a vampire, judging by how ordinary he looked. "…Just wanted to say I'm sorry." He mumbled, "…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"That's okay."

He swerved his gaze to her, his features clearly expressing confusion. "What do you mean '_That's okay_'? I SHOT you. With a gun. That doesn't happen to a lot of people. And not to mention I could have killed you!"

"Well…yes, it was a strange experience and it doesn't happen to everyone but I'm…err…okay. And you didn't kill me, if that… makes you feel any better." Ruby replied awkwardly, before she let go of a crutch to place a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. This was definitely one strange conversation. He stiffened immediately and threw his gaze to her hand. "Josh, please don't go and look for Alucard."

His face scrunched up and he shrugged her hand off. "He's the least of my worries. I'm looking for the bastards who killed my family now."

She bit her lip. "Listen, Josh…why don't we sit down somewhere and we'll talk; we can work something out. And I really don't want you to be out in the streets alone."

"I'm not a kid!" He yelled, "I'm 45 years old and I can look after myself!"

Ruby shrunk away slightly from his outburst.

Joshua's fists stopped clinching and his shoulders loosened. "S…Sorry." He uttered as his face gradually returned to its normal, chalky-white colour. "…My father and I have caused enough trouble as it is. You shouldn't bother with me any longer for your own good." Then he put down his skateboard and stepped on, kicking off the ground. He was rapidly shredding down the streets in minutes.

"W-Wait!" Ruby cried out futilely, but Joshua had already rounded a corner and disappeared. She sighed in defeat. _I wonder why Joshua was here anyway. Did he come to see how I doing? How did he even find me?_

She continued on her way home, still stuck in her thoughts, but then stopped when she saw a large black thing to her right out of the corner of her eye. It was panting, with this wicked grin on its face as it trailed dry muck around its dark paws, saliva dripping from its open, crescent-shape mouth, its wet, pinkish-purple tongue waggling out.

A dog.

The black thing was a dog.

A _big_ dog.

She had never seen such a big dog before in her entire life. The first thing she thought and said out loud to no-one in particular was: "That's a big dog."

A few seconds passed.

She stared down at the big black dog and tilted her head to the side. To her surprise, the dog did the same. She gave it an incredulous look, before dismissing the thought that a dog may have been following her and grinning at her and continued to limp back towards her apartment, grumbling and mumbling about how heavy the bags were. Sooner or later, she saw the large black dog scurrying beside her on her left.

Stunned, she stopped (the dog stopped too). Could the dog be following her? Maybe it had caught a whiff of the food in her grocery bags. The dog merely stared back at her with its ears raised, but then it sat up from its haunches and stepped forwards, grinning at her with its tongue dangling out from the side, its thick, bushy black tail swishing to and fro.

However, Ruby frowned. "What? What? Stop following me. I'm not your owner. Go home." She side-stepped away from the dog and quickly limped further down the street. Much to her surprise, the dog didn't follow. Gradually, she reduced her pace and slowly, she turned back round, to see the dog sitting on the spot she had left it, sitting on the dirty pavement, watching her. Not grinning.

It looked so sad and dejected, so lonely, sitting there by itself, staring up at her with its big, and wet, shining, ruby-red eyes.

She was sure it had an owner.

But it didn't have a collar, and a dog this big and so domesticated (or so she thought), could not be without an owner.

Maybe it was lost.  
>It got separated.<br>And now... it couldn't get home…

Ruby was like that – she had a tendency to think up ridiculous plot lines.

But maybe it was true. Maybe the dog could not get home.

An imaginary lightbulb flickered in her head. She remembered that movie she saw on TV when she was a kid about talking animals trying to get home... the movie that made her cry buckets…what was it called again? Oh yes. _Homeward Bound._ She saw the sequels, too. And she cried at those.

She looked around anxiously, but nobody seemed to pay the dog much attention in the street, except from children being dragged away by their scolding mothers to avoid the 'flea-infested mutt'. The dog continued to stare at her with its beady scarlet eyes, beckoning her to pay attention to it with its ears droopy and fallen flat over its head. Nervously, she sidled over to the dog, and it immediately sat back up, its tail wagging furiously, energetically, almost as if it had anticipated her return. She put down one bag, then slowly reached out a hand and plopped it over the dog's big head. It grinned lazily, its eyes half closed with its tongue hanging over one side of its mouth again, as if relishing the feel of her palm over its head. It closed its eyes and buried its snout under the flat of her palm, growling softly. A splodge of drool hung over its corner of its mouth, and dripped onto the pavement.

"…Good dog…" She murmured, "You must be lost…"

She looked up and around, realising no-one really was paying any attention at all to the dog – except from her, of course. The dog motioned to follow her but she stopped. "No, don't follow me. I'm sure there's someone looking for you. Just stay here."

Yet the dog continued to trail after her.

"No, stay – no, don't - _bad dog_ – "

She gave up after a few minutes, realising the dog would follow her no matter what as it began to weave itself in and out inbetween her legs, making her go around in circles. Today certainly was an eventful day – an encounter with Joshua, and now this? Ruby sighed in defeat; she did not know dogs could follow people as demonstrated, but here it was, relentlessly pursuing her even though she didn't want it to. Somehow it reminded her of a certain someone…

"Alright, fine." She sighed, "…Stay close now, don't get lost."

She limped down the street with the dog at her heels; she had always been a cat lover, but secretly, she'd always wanted to have her own dog, too. Once she had arrived at the apartment block, the dog seemed eager, pawing relentlessly at the door and trying to jump up and down. She had to hold it back while she searched for her keys, "Hold on, hold on, wait until I get my key…" Leaving her bags on the floor, she slid a hand down her pockets to fish her key until -

The dog suddenly rammed its muzzle in between her legs.

She tensed up all over and shakily threw her gaze down with an eye twitching. "Get your nose out of _**there**_. Bad dog."

She pushed away gently at his nose and out from between her legs and hastily brought out her keys, unlocked the door and opened it. The dog rushed up the stairs further ado; she stared after it. "Hey, you don't even know where I live." She said, and the dog trotted back, then waited patiently at the top of the stairs. Ruby stared at it in awe. No way. This dog simply could not be a dog. It held intelligence unlike any other dog for all she knew. Was this another latest discovery unknown to man? Along with the existence of vampires, what else would she discover? Maybe it had the brain of a human put into a dog's body. If it meowed, she might freak out.

Ruby dismissed the absurd thought of a dog meowing and continued on her way to her apartment – with much difficulty, too. She opened the door. The dog plodded inside; she shut the door behind her, watching the dog chase its tail for a few seconds before sitting down to scratch at its ear with its hind leg, then she watched it nibble at its own tail. She watched, fascinated by the canine antics, then retreated to the kitchen, wondering what to give to a dog to eat. Would human food be satisfactory? She didn't want to deliberately go back out to the market to get dog food.

_I'm tired and my ankle hurts like a bitch, _was her excuse as she thought to herself with a frown.

Much to her surprise, the dog had followed her again and was now staring up at her keenly, his bulky, hairy swishy tail swinging side to side, resembling a giant feather duster.

"I bet you're hungry, aren't ya?" She went back to the voice she used with babies at the maternity ward and began patting the dog. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, you big cutie! You big hunk; you heartbreaker!"

She stopped patting it, the dog still grinning.

"…Hm, I wonder what your name is." Ruby mused, before she went 'aha!', as if another imaginary lightbulb had switched on above her head. "Ah, I know! For the moment, I'll call you Butch. You look like one. A butch. Yes, yes. Butch. You must be a security dog or something. Butch. Yeah, I quite like the sound of that." But she thought harder. "…You really do remind me of a certain someone…with your black fur and red eyes…"

The dog was listening, or so she thought; Ruby shivered; the apartment was freezing – she switched on the central heating and then made her way to the lounge and sat on the couch, making sure not to hurt her ankle. Maybe having a dog around wouldn't be too bad. It could cheer her up, and she did live here alone; it would get lonely. She could also try and train it to fetch her slippers. A consequent hoot of laughter followed that train of thought as she stretched on her sofa. "Well," She began, "Maybe I should keep you. How about it? Want to stay here with me?"

The dog merely blinked at her, before it scrabbled up to the couch on its forepaws and began flicking its tongue out to lick at her nose. She squeezed her eyes shut as the dog continued licking at her face.

"…Okay, okay, I'll take that as a 'yes'. You can stay here." She said, and the dog lowered itself back down, then slowly moved down to rest on its belly, its head on its paws. Butch certainly was tame.

However, the doorbell rang and Ruby glanced up; so did Butch the dog.

"Hm? A visitor?" She limped towards the door. To her surprise, Butch had followed her once more. When she opened the door, it was her neighbour. That creepy-ass named Munroe who kept pointing a camera at her window. To take pictures of birds. Or so he said.

"Hey, neighbour!" He said cheerfully, while she tried to smile at him. Tried to.

"Um…yes, can I help you?"

"You've been gone for a few days! …What happened to your foot?"

"I broke it."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"I got some letters for you."

He was holding out a bunch of letters. She quickly grabbed them off him before he could feel her up like last time. "Thank you, now goodbye!" She said quickly.

"Wait! You're all by yourself here, right? Will you be okay?"

"…Oh. Um. Yeah." She blinked, nodding in surprise. Ruby actually thought twice that maybe Munroe was genuine.

"Do you want to go back to my place and – " He paused when he realised there was a big black thing trying to squash itself in between Ruby's legs as she stood. Munroe's eyes widened. "Wow… uh…that's a…that's a really big dog."

Ruby averted her gaze down to see that Butch was now focused on squishing his face in between the door and the doorway, as if it was struggling to get out. "…Really? You think so? I think that's a quite normal size for a Rottweiler." She decided to open the door just a little bit more so the dog could squeeze out a tad bit more.

"... I don't think that's a Rottweiler."

"Hm, then I wonder what dog he is."

"O-OH MY GOD!"

"What?"

"T-TH...THA...THAT DOG HAS _EIGHT_ EYES!"

Ruby turned to the dog as he pointed accusingly at it. It didn't have eight eyes. Just two perfectly normal, blinking red little beads. She turned to Munroe. "...What are you talking about?" But he was shaking, trembling... and Ruby swerved her gaze back down when she realised that Butch was now on its haunches, snarling viciously at the man. "…Butch, what's wrong? ...Butch?"

Without further ado, Butch leapt off the ground and pounced on him. Terrified, Munroe screamed as he fell backwards, with Butch gnawing and clawing at him. "EEEEEEEE! Get him off me! Get him off meee! EEEEEEE! Call him off! Get this creature off me!" He was screaming, trying to fight off Butch's relentlessly snapping jaws.

Ruby grabbed on, trying to pull the dog away. Eventually, Butch's jaws loosened around Munroe's arm and the man scrabbled away. "EEEEEEE! I won't forget this! I'll make sure you pay, eeeeee!" Munroe screamed out at the top of his lungs. As soon as he managed to get back to onto his feet, he turned hightail and ran all the way down to the corridor, with Butch galloping after him.

"No, Butch, come back!"

The dog stopped immediately, skidding to a halt on its paws. Again, the dog never ceased to surprise her. It turned round and slowly padded back to her, sat down and blinked up at her.

"Why did you attack him? Sure, he's creepy as hell, but..."

"_Ruby_."

"UWAGH!" She yelped, almost collapsing back onto the floor as soon as she heard the voice float in her mind. She gawped at the dog; it was now staring solemnly at her. Very solemnly. "Y-You…talked."

No, the dog itself was not speaking. Its great jaws never moved. It was like the last time she had a conversation like this, when she met Alucard… she heard his voice in her mind…and she spoke back to him, too. She blinked in confusion, and then…

"…Alucard? Is that you?"

His voice was indeed speaking to her in her mind. He said, "Yes."

"Why are you a…a…"

"A dog?" He replied, and the dog's lips pulled back, revealing a tremendous amount of sharp fangs dripping with saliva. Somehow, Butch…sorry, Alucard, seemed more foreboding and dangerous than before. He growled out, "Ahhh yes, I forgot to mention that I can assume any form I please."

She raised an eyebrow. "…Um…give me a minute to…er…inhale this all in." A minute passed, with Ruby sitting silently, staring into space.

Alucard waited patiently.

"…Okay, you can assume any form you want." She finally said, before grabbing a hanky from the side to mop up the floor and the contours of his salivating mouth. "But…a _dog_? Really?"

"This form is more convenient." He replied, and in his dog form, he sat upright and held his dog-head high and shook himself, his fur flying. "I can keep a close eye on you without drawing attention to myself."

"Of course. You stick out even when you are a _human_." She muttered as she closed the door, remembering the many stares they received when they took the bus back home together.

"You don't seem surprised."

"…Well, I thought a dog that smart was a little too good to be true." Ruby returned to the kitchen where she began preparing for lunch, whipping out the groceries she had just purchased, ranging from potatoes, carrots and onions. "So, why did you attack my neighbour?"

"I read his mind. He was planning."

"Planning what?"

"...You are best unaware." He replied, after a lengthy pause. "If I was not in this form, I would have torn him apart for thinking such vile thoughts. I will be keeping a watchful eye on him from now on."

"Yeah, he sure is creepy." _But that doesn't mean Alucard should tear him shreds..._ Ruby stared at him meekly before she sighed, running the vegetables under cold water from the tap in the sink. She had called him Butch. She had rubbed his belly and stroked his 'fur' and showed him a side she had never shown before. She cringed at herself. "S-So…Where did you go?"

"I returned to Hellsing." Alucard gave her a sideways glance as she began peeling the vegetables. It seemed he wasn't wanting for her to get involved yet. Maybe she was better not knowing. Alucard also seemed less intimidating and more communicative being a dog than he was a human. "Then I came back to check up on you."

"How are things?"

"Morris is helping us."

"That's good. You guys need more allies."

"Although he wields the Bowie Knife, he's not very practical. He prefers to spend his time alone in the laboratory my Master bestowed him, immersed in books and conducting various experiments based on vampire lore."

Ruby laughed; Morris did seem the more bookish, nerd-ish type. "By the way, did Sir Integra ask you to do this? You know…you being a dog and all."

"No, but she did request I keep a low profile during our investigations."

"Seriously(?)."

He nodded. "I will do whatever I can to protect my mate."

It was less romantic hearing it come from a dog. Ruby gazed at him with half-lidded eyes before she threw her head back, roared with laughter and shook her head, still laughing while Alucard/Butch merely rolled his dog-eyes at her. She grinned at him. "…I think I can get used to this."

"Get used to it while you can, my bride," Alucard murmured, but she did not hear, engrossed with dicing the potatoes before tossing them into a pot she had fished from under the sink.

"Hm, since I'm doing dinner, is there anything in particular you want to eat?" Ruby said with a smile, before she lifted the knife and began chopping the carrots into slices.

"I have no need to consume human food."

Ruby paused. "Oh, that's right. Sorry, I forgot." Then she leapt with fright when she felt two arms encircle her from behind. Alucard had now returned to his human form and was standing behind her; he grinned at her as he removed his sunglasses and hat, shaking his hair free to rest over one of his crimson eyes.

"…You're disappointed. You wanted to cook for me?" He purred in her ear, playing with a strand of her hair before letting the strands fall freely from his fingertips.

"Uh...well..." She swallowed down when he increased his grip on her, his arms tightening around her waist. "T-The only thing I can cook properly is potato salad and gravy. When I lived at the hospital we just went to the cafeteria or the - " She stopped when he gave her a look. "…What?"

"My little bride is so cute. So adorably cute." He began to nuzzle her hair, "Perhaps we could…_eat_ together, but my portion will have to be drizzled with blood."

Ruby cringed slightly. "Really? hm…I guess I could…" She left her sentence trailing when he leaned into her a little closely, "What are you up to?"

"Is it so painfully unclear?" His grin widened when he realised she wasn't trying to push him away or resisting, then he closed his eyes and began burying his nose into his hair, before he murmured silkily in her ear, "Did I forget to mention that I also requested permission?"

"Permission?"

"To stay with you for the time being."

"…Can you…?" She squeaked, "…stay _here_?"

"My master only gave me permission to stay with you for one day. She can be extremely generous when she wills it, however. Should anything come up, I am to return to Hellsing immediately."

"Oh, well, that makes sense, with the theft of the knife and all."

She could literally hear his grin growing wider and wider as he clutched her from behind, "…You… are not protesting." He remarked, with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows as he began to kiss her neck lightly.

"Uh…um…well…I…er…" Ruby blushed in response and fumbled slightly when her head tilted to the side gently as he trailed kisses up and down the side of her face. "…You can stay here. I don't mind. We can…have coffee and chat and stuff."

He pulled away to whisper in her ear. "Chat? Have…coffee? I was hoping we could do more. Much, much more… You do realise you only have yourself to blame, my bride? I cannot resist you… I yearn for you so much, long for you…_ache_ for you…"

Memories of what exactly happened last night made heat rise to her cheeks. Ruby threw her glance down, shaking slightly. His hands were suddenly swimming underneath her top and she gasped when she felt the front of her bra being pulled up. "Wait - " She was cut short when he began to fondle her sensually, and she shuddered, realising an involuntarily moan from her slightly parted lips. His hands were kneading and massaging her breasts and she was reduced to a quivering wreck on the spot. Her knees were growing weak, and she was feeling threatened to fall right there. No, she could not let him gain the upper hand...who knows what else he would do to her should she succumb to him? However, a squeeze of her nipples from his teasing fingers had her weak and groaning again, and with a shaky sigh, her eyelids fluttered to a close as she lowered her head, panting heavily.

"Oh god..." She managed to croak out, her throat was drying up, "Why are you…doing this? It feels - "

His mouth made claim on her neck again, his lips hot and wet, silently kissing and nipping at her flesh playfully with the tips of his fangs. It was a beguiling experience, like someone stabbing little pins over her skin. It did not hurt as much as she thought it would. Instead, the experience felt like an enticingly teasing act. He flicked his glazed, dark, blood-red eyes up to her when she did not finish her sentence. "…Yes, Ruby?"

" – _Wrong_." She finally managed to stammer out the last word of the sentence, still limp and utterly helpless under his hold as he continued to tend to her affectionately.

"Hm…" His lips left her neck briefly for a second and she missed the feel of his mouth over her skin, "But if you dislike it…why aren't you telling me to stop?" He purred, before sliding his hands down her pants.

Ruby nicked herself with the knife from the unexpected caress and a carrot slice went rolling to the ground along with a few drops of blood. The prick on her finger was enough to jerk her out of the hazy state Alucard had reduced her to. She did not even realise she was still holding the knife in her hand, but there it was bubbling on her finger: a fat blob of glorious, fresh human blood. She gaped at her bleeding finger but she was quick to act - Ruby dropped the knife into the sink and washed the blade down with water, then cradled her finger to herself. "I need to get this bandaged…"

But Alucard's grip on her had increased. The stench of blood trickling out of flesh was unmistakeable. The scent reached his nostrils in seconds and he inhaled deeply. "…_Let me help you_." He grated out. His voice had changed; it was identical to last time, when he had lost control…

"…No, that's okay." Ruby tried to wriggle out from him until Alucard grabbed her wrist, and attempted to lift her bleeding finger to his lips.

"_Just one drop_."

She squeaked, but Alucard was now licking the blood that had dribbled down her finger to her arm. For a moment, she stared at the display in stunned silence, watching Alucard's long tongue lap at the wound on her finger. And then suddenly, she felt his lips pressed over hers, and Ruby was slammed against the wall of her small kitchen.

He was kissing her; his lips smothering over hers again and again relentlessly, his eyes crazed with desire and want. At the same time, the blood he'd just drank from the cut on her finger seeped into her mouth. She choked slightly, the taste of her own blood was coppery and she gagged a little, blood dripping down the corners of their mingled mouths. Her gagged response only heightened his frenzy, and his probing tongue flicked into the cave of her mouth, intertwining with hers fervently. He had let go of her wrist to clutch at her waist, nipping and biting on her bottom lip with his fangs. She gasped slightly when he lifted up her legs, and hoisted them around his waist. He made sure she was sitting on him, with his knees bent slightly so he could prop her up and shove her against the wall before he instinctively thrust himself against her.

Ruby pushed him away from her immediately. "What are you…"

However, she let out a sheer, hapless moan when he bucked again, eliciting heat to surge in between her thighs. It felt…good. Pausing to swallow down a little, Ruby let his cold, hungry lips claim hers again, his hands raking up and down her body frantically before they latched onto the button of her pants underneath her apron. Ruby broke off the kiss and turned away, her eyes squeezed shut.

"_STOP_!"

Alucard stopped. He blinked. His expression clouded all of a sudden, and his hands gradually let go of her pants; he stepped away from her and Ruby's feet landed back on the ground.

A long silence followed.

She blinked up at him blankly when Alucard turned away. He seemed angry with himself. Without another word, he stepped away, fading into the shadows. "Wait - !" But she was far too slow to respond this time. "...Alucard?"

Ruby was left alone in her kitchen. She blinked blankly, then threw her glance down to her finger, which had stopped bleeding thanks to Alucard. Blushing, she hastily pulled her bra back down and stepped out of the kitchen to get a plaster and then sunk into the couch, glancing around. She wondered what had happened back in the kitchen. She thought he went berserk again, although it was not as bad as last time… he practically grabbed her and then he -

Ruby flushed furiously. "Ahhh, stop thinking about it." She shook her head side to side. "...I wonder where he went…"

She decided to wait for him.

An hour passed. Then another. And another.

She sighed; Alucard would probably not return for now. Whatever it was that was on his mind, he must need some precious alone time. She completed her potato salad, and then switched off the TV show she had been watching and crumpled up the empty wrapper of cookies she had been snacking on, deciding to finish off some homework and to do some studying for an upcoming test. She grabbed her books off the cupboard and took them to the sofa where she flipped it open to the right page.

However, a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Ruby looked up from her textbook and pulled the pen lid she had been chewing out from her mouth, then placed it on the page to act as a bookmark.

_I wonder who it could be… It can't be Alucard; he rarely uses the door._ She got up, waddled to the door and checked the spyhole first. All she could see was black. Whoever it was, he or she was standing far too close to the door. Ruby unlocked the door but kept the ballchain in place. She opened the door to a fraction to see a green eye staring at her through the crack. She leapt away from the door in fright as it kicked open and a giant figure came storming in.

He was a tall man, perhaps roughly the same height as Alucard, with lightly-tanned skin and dirty blonde hair and stubble; he was adorned in a navy priest's uniform. His thin lips were tugged upwards into a crazed smile, exposing a small section of his square white teeth as the light reflected off his glasses, hiding his steely green orbs. "Evenin', lass. I hope you don't mind comin' wi' me for a wee while…"

* * *

><p>AND THEN HE LIFTED UP HIS GIANT ARM AND WITH A MIGHTY SWING AND GOD'S WILL HE SEVERED THE HEAD FROM THE NECK AND IT FELL TO THE FLOOR. LAUGHING INSANELY, ANDERSON FINALLY DEFEATED HIS ANCIENT VAMPIRE NEMESIS BY DESTROYING THE ALLEGED FOURTH BRIDE OF DRACULA...<p>

Oh My Alucard - End.

No, no, just kidding! Oh My Alucard isn't finished. Nope, I still have major plans for this fic! Violent imagery aside, I don't know if Anderson was OOC or not, considering how in the OVA, he chopped up Integra's escorts without even batting an eyelid. But for this story, Ruby's limbs and Ruby in general will have to remain intact – for now. I hope I got his accent right!

**Further Notes:**

1. No surprises here, it is Caelum and the rest of the BFK (Black Flame Knights mnemonics, lol) who are responsible for the missing peopl


	19. Alexander Anderson

This is a HUGE and LONG plot chapter. There are tonnes of paragraphs -_-" I know it's off-putting and an eyesore but bear with meeeee.

* * *

><p><em>Alexander Anderson <em>

Alucard returned to Ruby's flat.

Her door was open - the ball chain was completely yanked off the doorframe, discarded and broken near her untouched converses. He sniffed the air and knew Anderson had set his grubby foot here; it reeked of that goddamned Judas priest. Furthermore, Alucard spotted a small splash of blood on the edge of her coffee table and the floor. Considering the inflictions on the door and floor, he envisioned that Ruby had tried to stop Anderson, only to be empowered and hurled backwards, hitting her head on the coffee table which would explain the small splodge of blood. Then, she was dragged out when unconscious, judging by the snagged piece of Ruby's shirt that was left behind on the one of the jutting floorboards.

_Anderson clearly wanted to be found_, Alucard mused to himself. _Very well. If it is a fight he requests, then I shall not disappoint. _However, sensing an additional presence in the supposedly empty house, he snarled out, "There is no use hiding; I know you are there."

From Ruby's bedroom, the door creaked open and a familiar teenage boy stepped out. "…Hullo." He said dryly.

Alucard's eyes narrowed immediately. He contemplated whether his old eyes were deceiving him but it was definitely him - Victor Sloan's son. "What are you doing here?"

Sloan's son croaked out weakly as he scratched at his elbow. Compared to his father, this half-pint was truly meeker and timid. "I think that priest came. D-Don't get me wrong! I hardly know the guy! The Harker's only told me about him."

Alucard felt insulted that this boy was a vampire. He bit out, "And you let him take her away?"

"I just got here! I didn't see anything!" Joshua snapped, but immediately regretted it when Alucard took a step forwards to him. He had been expecting him to lash out or do _something _similar along the lines, however, Alucard merely smirked at him.

"And how did you discover where my bride lived?"

Joshua shrugged; he was unable to exactly explain himself. "I did see her earlier on – I didn't follow her, I swear! If-If I catch a scent of something…I…know where something is." He sighed and hung his head low at his supposedly lame response. Here he was conversing with his father's murderer as if they were some sort of casual acquaintances. Surely his father was twisting and turning in his grave at this precise moment (if he had a grave, that is).

"I see. You are a tracker." He said, and Joshua stared in Alucard in shock. Tracker? Joshua had never heard such thing. He continued to gawp as the No-Life King began to muse over the fact that Police Girl was unable to track various things down for the time being, whether they were people or vampires. However, this boy could. Maybe he would be useful to Hellsing after all, as their sniffer dog.

A silence spawned between them following his remark.

"You do not want revenge?" Alucard then declared with an eyebrow raised, as Joshua continued to mope around, doing nothing but glance awkwardly around himself, clearly unused to a small and deprived human habitation such as this one compared to the Harker's elaborate grand manor.

The dracul gawked wide-eyed at him, then ever-so-slowly, managed to respond with a little shake of his head, his brown hair flailing.

_He is afraid._ Alucard mused with a pleased expression on his face. _He may as well be._ With that, his smirk widened darkly. "I'm right here. You can do whatever you want. Stake me… cut off my head…the option is yours... I will not retaliate. _Vengeance_ is yours."

For a moment, Joshua stared at him fearfully, then shook his head again. "No. I don't want to do any of that." The flat fell silent again. Alucard began to leave and Joshua made a motion to follow him. "Where are you going?"

"You have wasted my time as enough."

"I want to come too."

"You?"

"Yeah. I want to save Ruby as much as you do." And Joshua began to follow him out of the apartment complex.

**Meanwhile.**

Ruby grumbled groggily and opened her eyes. She was facing down, her hair dangling, and she was hovering above a large tank filled with…

…water…

_Where am I?_ She thought, as she glanced around. She was in a barn of some sort. A loud noise akin to metal grinding together grabbed her attention and she turned to the source. A man was sitting on a stool, sharpening two bayonets. It was the same man who had come to her flat… He was engrossed with a bible propped up on another stool in front of him, murmuring under his breath. His gloves had something written on it, but she could not see from her distance. "Am I…?"

"Yer not dead." He muttered, without even looking at her. "Yer no' dead. No' yet."

"You..." She began, yanking and jerking around only to swing around in a 180 degree angle clockwise and anti-clockwise. Ruby was tied up and strung up high like a piñata swinging from a tree branch; a thick rope was tied around her waist, pulling her arms behind her back, her legs hanging. Her wrists and ankles were tied together too. "Let me go!"

He was still murmuring under his breath. "The glory of the lord shall endure for ever: the lord shall rejoice in his works. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. I will sing unto the lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the lord, O my soul. Praise ye the lord_._"

"Hey!" Ruby yelled, and he finally looked up. "What do you want from me?"

"Hush, lass." He barked at her, "I'm waitin'."

His accent stood out. He wasn't from England, that was for sure. "Who are you?" She demanded, trying to blow away hair from her face. He stood up and closed the bible before rounding over to her. She watched him warily, as he grinned, his tight jaw clenched to reveal more gleaming-white, square teeth. He grinded his two swords thoroughly together as he took one step up at a time on the rickety staircase, and calmly made his way to her, the metal blades screeching against each other.

"Father Alexander Anderson." He finally told her, as he stopped at the portruding boardwalk. "Yer in need for a deep cleansin', lass."

Ruby struggled to spin back to his direction to face him properly. "What do you mean?"

"The reason ah didnae kill ye yet, is because ah need tae expel the unholy demon from ye first. Then ah'll send ye away tae the road of salvation."

"What are you talking about? Unholy demon? …Salvation?"

Anderson said nothing except grab hold of a pulley affixed to one of the wooden pillars of the barn which she did not notice before.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked, her voice trembling, and he began to loosen the notch; to her horror, it lowered the rope and her feet was now touching the surface of the water. "No, wait! Don't do that!" She yelped, kicking at the water's surface.

"Ye stink o' the beast. Ye reek o' the beast. I can smell it all over ye…" Anderson leered at her with a growl, "It sickens me. It's vile and putrid filth. Whatever spell the demon has cast on ye, or whether yer followin' yer own corrupted heart… Heaven won't open its doors to the sinful. Ye will only find salvation in there."

By 'in there', he must mean the huge tank full of god-knows-how-deep water he was lowering her inside. "What? By drowning me?"

"No' drowning." He grunted in his gruff accent, "Holy water. It doesnae kill, it purifies the body an' soul."

"Holy water?" Ruby squeaked. Without another word, Anderson lowered her into the tank that she was now waist-deep. "No! No, let me go! Let me - "

"Aye…that's it lass, scream louder and summon the beast…Beckon 'im here! I have unfinished business wi' him too." Anderson said, and he let go of the lever, before striding over to the rope suspending her. With one quick swipe of his bayonet, he snapped the rope and Ruby dropped into the water without further ado.

The water was freezing. If it was holy water, it didn't feel different compared to ordinary water. She wriggled around uncomfortably. No use. Her arms were bound behind her back, her wrists and ankles tied together. She jerked and flailed around, oxygen bubbles streaming frantically from her nose and mouth. Below the surface of the water, Ruby saw Anderson reach for the lid of the tank and slam it down shut. The lock clicked.

Anderson stared at the closed tank, and pushed his glasses further up over the bridge of his nose. "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. AMENNNNNN!"

….

"You ask to meet me but it has clearly come to my attention that you have ordered your associate to kidnap a British civilian and hold her against her will."

Enrico turned to the Protestant sow, aka the Director of Hellsing, his silvery hair swishing as he gracefully turned his head to face her. There Integra stood opposite him in the art gallery; an extremely and undeniably rare meeting, but unavoidable nevertheless. In response to Maxwell's blatant disregard to her presence, Integra clenched the end of a cigar further between her teeth. Eventually, after a brief silence, he let out an exaggerated sigh and held his hands up in the air.

"You're always so tense all the time," He mused, with a seedy grin, "Why don't you ever relax?"

"Enough of this!" Integra barked, "Release her at once. Are you not aware that your actions have brandished the Vatican with a black mark?"

"Tsk tsk. A lady as you should not raise her voice as so." Enrico waggled a finger at her, obviously delighting and basking in her intense, accruing dislike for him. Could a man really be obnoxious as he? "And my actions are none of your concern. Anderson is now in charge. I trust his judgement and he, himself. For the greater good, I simply left the leash untied."

However, a smirk crossed Integra's features, and she began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

She inhaled a deep drag from her cigar and then pulled out a file from the innards of her long coat. "Ruby Ashcroft, the only daughter of Dahlia and Samuel Ashcroft. Are you not aware? Both are Catholics, and therefore, it is likely that their daughter is Catholic, too." She said; she detected that she'd taken the leader of Iscariot off guard, for his violet eyes had widened in their sockets for a split second, before his left began wincing uncontrollably, making him appear as though he was in pain of some sort. However, shortly following that elaborate demonstration of facial display, Enrico returned to normal, and Integra added, "I recommend you… brush up on your research skills in the future, Maxwell."

Enrico frowned. Just because the demon whore's parents were Catholic didn't mean anything! It didn't mean she was forgiven or untouchable. God would judge her no matter what. However, he could tell why Integra was so amused. _Because if she is a Catholic but also that wretched vampire's mate, then…_ Enrico stabbed his teeth on his bottom lip in rage when he realised. Oh, the irony of it all.

"Perhaps you should take the matters with the Vatican, and not with us." She added. His roar of rage followed her out as she walked away, with Walter re-joining her side. "I leave the negotiations to you, Walter. Prepare the helicopter."

"Yes, mi'lady."

…

"There. She's in there." Joshua pointed to the barn as the two vampires stood on the rooftop of the abandoned farmer's house that was a few feet away. He sniffed the air before his nose scrunched up. "Smells like priest."

"And what would a priest smell like?"

The situation was a peculiar one, but intriguing. He'd been on so many missions either alone, or with the newly turned Police Girl, that his change in companion in the form of a little 15 year old boy was somewhat uncanny.

He'd already contacted Integra about what had happened; his Master was surprised to hear that Alexander Anderson had travelled to England, but she wasn't surprised to hear that he had gone after Ruby and had kidnapped her. When he consulted her for guidance on how to handle the situation, Integra told him to be subtle for they were dealing with the Vatican's people, but nevertheless, retrieve the girl by any means necessary. Even if blood and a few limbs would have to be shed, which was very likely. Now, Integra should be meeting with Enrico because he requested her to meet at the art gallery as his personal audience. For now, Alucard was left on his own, free to do as he wished. Negotiations would have to wait until later.

"This one smells funny. He smells like blood, candle wax, rusted metal and old books."

"Very good, Little Sniffer Dog."

He cringed a little from the nickname Alucard had decided to call him. "…What do we do now, Mr Alucard?"

"_We search and destroy_." And with that, Alucard leapt off the roof and arrived at the barn doors.

…..

The barn doors flew open.

Anderson stopped sharpening his blades and looked up with a grin when a familiar adversary stepped inside and approached him, clutching a silver barrelled gun in hand.

There was no need for words.

Anderson came charging at Alucard without further ado. The vampire fired shots from the Casull which Anderson deflected expertly. Alucard gritted his teeth in fury; the Judas Priest had captured his mate. Anger surged through him like bubbling hot lava. He had never felt the desire to rip someone apart so badly as he did now.

The sounds of steel clashing exploded in all four lonely corners of the barn as Joshua balanced himself carefully on the wooden beams. While Alucard would distract Anderson, he was tasked with getting Ruby out, wherever she may be. The barn was merely a large empty space with hay and fenced in areas indicating where the others kept their horses. The only exception was the strange metal machine at the end of the room. It looked like a cylinder-shaped tank. Was Ruby really inside? He crept along the wooden beams quietly as possible; however, he couldn't help but watch the fight.

"What did you think you were doing, Anderson?" Alucard was growling, as he dodged a swipe aimed for the side of his head.

"Ah couldnae have ye copulatin' wi' a human!" Anderson snarled back; his eyes wide and shining, brimming with twisted, maniacal glee. "The lass will be purified by thy holy water and is now on her journey of redemption and salvation; God have mercy on her soul, _AMEEEEEEEEEN_!"

A few moments later, both weapons were spinning out of their hands from their inevitable clashes and bayonets and the Casull clattered to the floor a few feet away. Their fists clinching, both men resorted to their clenched knuckles to do the talking. Anderson delivered a blow to the right of Alucard's face while Alucard retaliated with a devastating uppercut to the chin which knocked a few teeth straight from Anderson's lower jaw. Both men were hunched over, grunting and snarling like beasts, saliva and blood dripping from the gaps of their wrecked gums and gritted teeth, pummelling their fists into each other, blow after blow.

"VAMPIRE!" Anderson spat him as they pulled away again, his lower jaw clenched so hard his teeth grinded together viciously, "Ah knew ye would come tae save yer whore. Tis' better than killing two birds wi' one stone."

Alucard snarled, and with the next cataclysmic clash, it was enough to send both of the men flying into the wooden beams supporting the barn. The old building gave a slight creak but the men did not pay attention. Growling loudly, Alucard stood up and shook off the broken pieces of wood from his coat. At the same time, the priest got back up too, throwing splinters off himself before he punched his jaw back into place.

"Today will be the death o' ye, vampire!" Anderson roared, as he made a mad sprint towards Alucard with his recovered bayonets.

Alucard dodged just as Anderson slashed another one of the wooden beams in half. Again, another creak gave out but they paid no attention, absorbed in the heat of battle. Alucard fired the Casull at Anderson's direction; he blocked with the blades of his bayonet, the bullets bouncing off. With one fierce swipe, the priest stabbed at Alucard but he evaded swiftly – however, Anderson reared back up from behind and slashed at the back of his knees. To his dismay, Alucard was merely grinning, as if the wound was nothing and he leapt away effortlessly and up towards another one of the beams supporting the barn. Anderson gritted his teeth as he glared at Alucard standing above him. The vampire taunted him to follow with a well-aimed smirk; bellowing with anger, Anderson tossed a few daggers at his direction. Alucard avoided the attack and the daggers destroyed another wooden pillar – the pillar which Joshua had been hiding behind.

"ARGHH!" Joshua ran out of his hiding place and Anderson's fist clenched.

"So you didnae come alone!" Anderson barked. "Fledging of yours, eh? Ah think ye have enough wee Hellsing dogs frolickin' around all over the place."

However, Alucard merely flicked his gaze to Joshua lazily. "Go." He said, still ogling the priest from above, watching him race towards the staircase.

Joshua nodded and leapt off the wooden banister and landed back to the ground. Without hesitating any longer, he hurriedly dashed to the tank. He slid his palms underneath the base of the machine, before he completely ripped it off the hinges it was attached to and lifted it high above his head. Without further ado, he began running out of the barn with the tank.

Anderson, at the top of the stairs, let out a howl of fury when he saw what was happening. He couldn't let the heathen escape - and he flung a dagger towards Joshua. It pierced him through the calf and the dracul stumbled but he pulled himself back up off the ground and kept running, limping somewhat. A loud roar of laughter could be heard and Anderson settled his seething eyes on the No-Life King who had all but witnessed the scene, his red eyes dancing with amusement.

"Why the long face, Anderson?" Alucard snarled, "Isn't this what you wanted? Come, let us finish what you started, _Judas priest_!"

Anderson dodged the hail of bullets Alucard unleashed on him and dashed madly side to side to avoid the assault. He pulled himself up onto the thin wooden beams, balancing his weight out by setting one foot in front of the other. Another clash of the two powers was inevitable; the vampire emptied another round at him but he batted them away to the side effortlessly. As soon as he was close enough, he swiped off his head along with the vampire's hand that was holding the wretched gun with one swig of his bayonet. A weapon so fine did not belong in the hands of a monster, Anderson had once thought – and as Alucard's fine-aiming hand dislodged from his arm, the hand still pulled the trigger and a bullet slammed into Anderson's neck.

An interesting thing was that Anderson's blood smelt musky, bitter and burnt, like incense. Alucard could tell a lot of things from people's blood. Generally those who did smell like honey, or were sweet to taste, were in fact, innocent people. Murderers and criminals, who he often sucked the life out of during missions, tasted like tar. However, enough was enough. The headless body stumbled backwards from Anderson's fierce attack but was still standing. Shadows began to swirl from the severed neck and wrist as the priest clutched his neck wound, his breath coming out as smoke through his clenched teeth, nose and ears.

He wasn't going to wait for the vampire to regenerate; Anderson lunged in for another brutal swing of his bayonet but he was halted by a bullet smashing into the back of his head and right arm; Anderson reeled as the bullet dropped off from his skull with a 'clunk' whereas his right arm tore off his elbow hinge, flopping at an awkward angle. He turned round just as the nozzle of the Casull touched the bottom of his chin and a portion of his jaw was blown off as he ducked in time; impossible! He'd cut off the hand – and then he saw it- the Casull was being held by a shadow-hand that had swarmed behind unbeknownst to him.

He roared, blood spewing from all flesh wounds. Nothing was impossible when facing the demon. He'd lobbed off its head once and it'd regenerated in a stunning visual of somersaulting, flapping bats. Anderson refused to let his injury faze him; he merely retorted with another vicious assault of his bayonets - Alucard had to admire Anderson's persistence in defeating him but none of that would help when Alucard fired another shot; the handicapped priest dodged and the bullet collided with a gasoline lamp affixed to the wall.

It was a terrible shot. Nowhere even near the priest, but then it all came clear when the lamp exploded. Flames erupted, engulfing the barn in seconds. Underneath, the wooden beams supporting him was also starting to groan under his weight before it completely gave way.

As the shadows repaired him, Alucard watched Anderson plummet to the ground along with the wooden pillar before hopping off the banisters himself. He watched the macabre situation, knowing all too well this wouldn't kill Anderson or cripple him one bit, but would at least give Alucard time to free Ruby, who, by the way, he'd left under Joshua's care for at least ten minutes. He made his way to the barn exit, unfazed by the flames, watching Anderson buried underneath pillar after pillar.

And just before the barn collapsed completely, he could still hear Anderson bellowing from within.

…..

With Anderson out of the picture for now, Alucard arrived at their rendezvous point in the empty field where he saw Joshua struggling to get the lock of the tank to open.

"Nothing's working!" He cried helplessly when Alucard approached him.

"Move."

Joshua did as he was told and Alucard shot open the lock of the tank with the Casull. He ripped off the hatch to see a blurry figure underneath the water. The water had reached the top of the hatch and spilled a little, soaking around the bottom of his boots. He reached a hand in but retreated when he realised the water was blessed. Holy water. Roaring in frustration, Alucard cast all thoughts aside and removed his cloak.

"Wait!" Joshua yelped, "What are you doing? You can't go in there, it's holy water!"

He grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and snarled ferociously, "You suggest a _better _idea?"

"B-But it's suicide…"

Alucard growled, threw him to the side and dropped into the water without further thought. It was life-risking but he had always lived on the edge. Diving into a tank full of holy water was nothing. The pain assaulted him like needles on skin; it was enough to reduce him to an unmoving wreck but he forced himself to dive to the bottom of the tank; he found Ruby - she wasn't moving – and brought her up to the surface. He lifted her back up to the top of the tank and clambered out himself, hissing in agony as the holy water burnt away at his flesh; he was singing, his skin eroding away as if one had tossed acid all over oneself.

He threw himself away from her as Joshua went to untie her, waiting to slowly recover. "Is she breathing?" He grated out; he could feel air going through his mouth and realised his cheeks had been melted away. The water had eroded his skin away, scraping away at his lips and gums. He could not let her see him like this.

Joshua removed the last of her ropes and placed his head against her chest and listened carefully. A dull thudding in her chest could be heard. "Yeah. I think we saved her in time."

Drawing in sharp, angry breaths, he waited for his painful recuperation and turned round regardless of his horrifying exterior which had Joshua staring wide-eyed. Ruby was lying on the grass, her hair wet and flat against her cheeks and forehead, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted. She was still drenched in holy water, and he felt his anger surmount when he saw the rope burns on her wrists. After his brief inspection of his mate's physical state, he realised Ruby hadn't woken up yet.

He ignored Joshua's expression and grabbed her, shaking her. "Ruby, get up." There was no response. Ruby remained unresponsive. Although she was soaked in holy water, he didn't care for the little stinging pains she inflicted on him unintentionally when his skin came in contact with hers. A haze claimed him and his conscience was roaring into life: _Bite her. Bite her. Bite her._ It was rational. It might save her life. Could he live without Ruby? Could he live with her forever? Probably… Probably not… He didn't know. He threw his gaze down to the motionless girl in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Joshua asked, as Alucard pulled away a few strands of wet hair from her neck.

He ignored him and leant towards her awaiting nape where he could hear the faint rush of her blood coursing through her veins, crying at him to be drunk. Alucard opened his mouth where his fangs began to elongate; his cool, wispy breath quickened with anticipation at the thought of turning Ruby into a draculina to be his for eternity…to remain by his side forever and ever until the end of time…

…

"…_Ruby? Ruby, it's daddy. I want to talk."_

"_Go away."_

"_Ruby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you back there. Can I come in?"_

_She pulled the covers off her head and stared at her closed door in the darkness, then sighed and slipped out, plodding out of the warmth and comfort of her bed with her teddybear in hand. She opened the door for her father. She looked up; he was blocking the light of the hallway, resembling nothing but a giant shadow in the doorframe. _

"_I'm sorry, Ruby."_

"_I wanna sleep."_

"_Will you listen to what I have to say before you sleep?"_

"..._Okay."_

"_Alright, I'll tuck you in. Get you nice and warm first." Dad led her back towards the bed and she crawled back in; he pulled the covers back over her up to her chin, and then sighed. "I'll check your temperature." His large, cool palm went over her forehead for a brief moment, before he let out a satisfied hum. "Good, you're getting better."_

"_What's in the basement, dad?"_

_He turned to her, and sighed once again. He sounded...drained. "Something…that I cannot show to you. Not yet."_

"_Why? What is it? Is it a secret?"_

"…_You can say that. It's a big secret, and…I'm not sure you can handle it just now. So…for your own protection, and safety; your mother and I, we were going to tell you when you're older."_

_"You can't tell me now?"_

_"I'm sorry, Ruby. Daddy doesn't want to do it, but...he has no choice."_

"_Okay. Then I won't ask. I don't want to hurt daddy."_

_He smiled._ "_You're special, Ruby._ _And_ _I didn't mean to yell at you. I panicked when I saw you come down."_

"_That's okay, dad."_

_He grinned, and they did their pinky promise by looping their small fingers together to ensure that everything between them was okay, then he reached over and pecked her forehead. "I love you, Ruby. Never forget that." Dad slid off the bed and strolled back towards the door to her room. "No matter what happens, your daddy will always love you."_

_Before he closed it, she said, "I love you too, daddy."_

…_.._

Ruby awoke with a startled, choked gasp.

She coughed, then glanced around frantically, remembering where she was and what had happened, even though her memories were fairly choppy. All she remembered were the following: Priest. Father Anderson. Tried to kill her. Locked her in a tank full of water. Square teeth.

Ruby let out a groggy groan. "Alucard...? Joshua?" While Joshua breathed a sigh of relief, Alucard pulled his head out and away from her neck, his fangs retracting, and he bundled her into his arms, giving a sideways glance to his hand – his flesh was beginning to patch itself up. However, what mattered to him was that she was alive. She was still alive… Relief washed over him in seconds. "…Cold…" She was mumbling and shivering, "I'm cold…"

Alucard swiftly wrapped his coat around her tighter. "Better?"

She nodded weakly. "A little." Then, she gasped. "My foot!" Alucard and Joshua threw their glances to her ankle as Ruby hastily checked herself, and sighed. Her ankle seemed fine… "Phew. I'm okay. False alarm."

He raised an eyebrow while Joshua blinked numbly at the girl. "I think your foot is the least of your troubles, Ruby. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay…What happened to that scary, box-jawed man who tried to drown me?"

Alucard and Joshua glanced to each other. They'd left the box-jawed man to rot in a burning barn, that was what happened. "Never mind him, Ruby." Joshua said quickly. "Mr Alucard has taken care of him. What matters is that you're safe."

"Why did he go after me?"

Joshua turned to Alucard then. "Yeah, why did Father Anderson go after Ruby?"

"…You are my mate." came Alucard's flat response. "…It means I have placed you in a dangerous situation; from now on, you… will occasionally face mortal peril."

"Oh." Ruby said, her expression scrunching up at the sound of 'mortal peril'. His honesty was a little…brutal. "Speaking about faces…What happened to you, Alucard? Your face…" She lifted her arms up and planted them on his torn cheeks before she turned his head to the side for inspection. "These are third degree burns..."

He placed his large hands over hers and smirked. "Battle wounds earned while saving a damsel in distress." He murmured, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

However, Ruby threw her gaze down dejectedly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. These things happen because of me, and then you have to get out of your way and you get hurt and – "

"It is not your fault."

She tried to smile at him as his hollow cheeks started to heal until she heard a cough and then turned at Joshua, who was now looking away, obviously uncomfortable with watching couples in public. "…Thank you, Joshua."

"Oh…Um. N-No problem. Y-Y-You're welcome." He croaked out dryly. "…Well, you're okay now. I sh-should go."

"Wait - Joshua, you should come with us. Hellsing needs you." Ruby said swiftly, then she glanced over to Alucard for back-up.

"Hellsing could do with a little sniffer dog."

Whilst Joshua seemed a little deterred, Ruby laughed awkwardly. "What he means is that you'll be a valuable addition. You should lend your strength to help Sir Integra, Alucard, Seras and Walter and all the fine gentlemen who have pledged their allegiance to kill evil vampires."

The dracul kicked a stone in his path. "…Can't I stay with you?"

Ruby blinked. "Me? You want to...stay with me?" She squeaked in shock, before she let out another awkward laugh, "Josh, you can't stay with me, I mean, I can barely look myself! I'm still studying... I don't have a job...I live off instant noodles...I-I don't even have a washing machine at home."

"I don't mind."

She put a hand to her chin. Oh dear. This might get troublesome. She wouldn't mind Joshua staying with her, but...she was far more worried that she would not be able to look after him properly. To her relief, Alucard said, "We need to report to my Master regardless. You, sniffer dog, must come with us."

"Okay, fine, I'll come with you to Hellsing. But please stop calling me that."

"Alright!" Ruby cheered half-heartedly. At least something had been done. Alucard stood back up with Ruby in his arms, and he began to carry her out of the deserted field, whilst Joshua trailed beside them. "By the way...how am I going to get home?"

"Lest you forget that you are in the presence of two vampires, my bride."

"Oh." Ruby cringed, but then she smiled at Alucard who tensed up slightly, his grip on her increasing tenfold. "But thank you for saving me, both of you."

"Mr Alucard did all the work." Joshua pointed out.

"Hn." Alucard grunted; they had finally left the field and were back on the main road. Ruby glanced around helplessly but nevertheless, mustered another smile at Alucard. "For someone who narrowly evaded death, you are unusually cheerful. Your optimism must know no boundaries, my bride." He remarked in response.

She shrugged. "…I'm okay now. That's what matters."

"Give me your phone, little sniffer dog."

Joshua grumbled but dug his hand into his pocket and handed Alucard his phone anyway. "Do you think you'll get a signal here?" Ruby asked as he let go of her and returned her back to the ground where she stood side-by-side beside Joshua. He flipped open the phone where he did indeed, received a signal. While Alucard made his phonecall to Hellsing, Ruby turned to the dracul and grinned. "Thanks, Josh. How's your leg?"

"I'm fine, thanks, and I-I already said you're welcome." He stammered out, and then - "…By the way, I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

Joshua rummaged around his jeans, then protruded out a vial with something deep-red and gloopy sloshing inside. "It's the cure." He mumbled, as Ruby gazed at it wide-eyed, "…To vampirism, or so he said."

"…Who?"

"The other guy who was with Luther."

Ruby gawped at the vial in horror as she held it in her hand. "…Wait, this is–this is the cure? To vampirism? What other guy? What guy?"

"There's another guy." Joshua said, watching Ruby splutter and stammer, "…I think he's their leader, because he – well, he…controls Luther, I think. I didn't get his name, but he gave me this…and I don't want it."

"But it's the cure…Isn't it?"

"That man sent a vampire to bite me, manipulated my father, then had my foster family killed, and stole a possibly powerful artefact. Then he sent a hitman after me." He took the vial and held it up to her. "And now he's given me this. Do you honestly think it's a cure?"

* * *

><p>"<em>What's your name?"<em>

"…"

"_I've never seen you come down to the village before."_

"…_The villagers leave their offerings in the shrine. Today, I found none, so I was sent to investigate."_

"_So you CAN speak."_

"_Just because I am a vampire does not mean I am incapable of verbal articulation. …Why are you talking to me anyway? Are you not afraid I will - "_

" – _Suck my blood and kill me; yes, yes, I know. My grandparents told me enough scary bedtime stories about you guys as it is."_

"_Then…"_

"_You're one of the good vampires, right? You're the ones…who don't harm humans." She said. "Besides, if you wanted to kill me and suck my blood… you could have done it ten minutes ago, but you didn't. I'm sure you knew I was following you."_

_This forced a wry smile to appear on his face. "Yes, that is…true. I picked up your scent a mile away." He replied. Then he stopped smiling and frowned deeply. "Rule 1: Never speak to humans. Rule 1 must be strictly obeyed and conformed to; any individuals guilty of breaking this rule is to be directly dispatched to Gideon and is punishable by holy water and a stake to the heart." He uttered, in a robot-like trance. He turned to her and added, "I am not allowed to speak to humans. Go away."_

"_Hey, wait a minute – "_

"_If you are wise, you would stay away from me too." He barked. Without another word, he stormed away, trudging back up the winding trail to the mountain with the large and heavy, bulging sack over his shoulder, as if the weight did not bother him in any way at all. To his dismay however, she was still following him. _

"_Who's Gideon?"_

_He whirled round. "You." He pointed at her, narrowing his eerie, blood-red eyes, "You know too much. I should wipe your memory right here and now."_

"_No! Don't do that!" She exclaimed. _"…_You don't remember me? You saved my life 5 years ago, when the bombs hit. I was 13 years old."_

_He inspected her closely. "That was…" He glanced at her from head to toe. "That was you?"_

_She nodded. "I never got to say 'thank you'. I recognised you because…well, you haven't changed at all."_

"_I have no need for your gratitude. Furthermore, I do not age."_

"…_What's your name?"_

_He turned away from her, frowning. She was a human no doubt but she was not afraid of him and even wanting to know his **name**. Why? For what possible reason would she want his name? It made no sense. Had the world turned upside-down? However, he found himself stammering, "Wh-Why do you wish to know?"_

"_I just do." _

_Stunned by her words, he could do nothing but watch her intently with growing intrigue. "…Caelum." He croaked out, after a lengthy pause, "My name is Caelum." And she smiled at him in return when he spun round to continue his lonely trek back to the foreboding mountains he called home. "There. I have fulfilled your ridiculous request. Now stop following me."_

_He heard her giggle; a hauntingly, melodious sound it was, and he could not help but turn round once more. To his surprise, she was skipping back towards the direction of the village, waving at him all the way. "My name's Emilia! It's nice to meet you, Caelum!"_

…

He woke up from his dream, his eyes snapping wide open.

At first, he let his eyes adjust, staring at red, inky spots waft and spread over his vision before he realised he was submerged underwater and he'd been crying blood again. He rose with a roar in the bathtub, blinking at the murky crimson blotches in the water like red ink. He climbed out, his hair wet and matted, dripping with mingled blood and water, and dried himself with the waiting towel on the rack, then slipped on the nightobe and stood in his deluxe bathroom, staring down at the white marble sink with his hands gripping the basin edge.

_Emilia…_

He gritted his teeth before his fists clinched and the sink began to crack before it promptly split in two under his shaking grip.

For the first time in thirty years…Caelum felt the desperate urge to feed.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

1. Anderson's speeches came from Psalm 104: Verses 31-35 and Psalm 79: Verse 9.

2. The part about Ruby talking to her father was another childhood memory that followed the one in Chapter 16 about the basement. As I said before I hate writing 'flashback' so I'll just throw it at you instead randomly xDD Same goes for Caelum.

3. This story has also turned from a glorious T to a wicked M-rating because this story has a lot more lime than I originally intended. Seriously, I've made Alucard a bigger horndog than originally intended. I hope you guys don't mind.

Also, this story has reached over 100,000 words (although some are from author's notes).

Enjoy the mystery ~


	20. From Me to You

Enjoy, but there's gore.

* * *

><p><em>From Me To You<em>

It was starting to get dark and when the taxi driver saw the figure in the middle of the lonely countryside road, it was too late.

The figure was a man clad in black, who turned round, and the two bright flashlights of the taxi reflected off his peculiar blood-red eyes. Horns blaring, tires screeching, the man in black did nothing even when the taxi skidded, colliding into him despite the attempt to swerve out of harm's way. The impact threw his body at least a few feet off the ground and the car finally grinded to a jarring halt.

Doors opened. Frantic footsteps approached him. He lay very still over the concrete, his eyes closed, blood dribbling over his face.

"Oh shit!" The taxi driver threw himself down to kneel beside him, "A-are you okay, sir?"

There was no response.

"Where are you hurt?"

Still no response.

"Better just call an ambulance." The taxi driver murmured to himself, before he scoured his pockets but…

The man on the ground suddenly opened his eyes.

And then the taxi driver's head flew off from his shoulders in a radiant display of blood and tendrils. He landed back onto the road and bounced a few feet or so, rolling. His body remained kneeling on the ground in a pool of blood. The man in black slowly stood up and cracked his neck by tilting his head to the side, staring at the kneeling, headless body in front of him. Moments later, the body collapsed and slumped over on its front on the road, more blood seeping out underneath.

Looking left and right, the man in black crouched down to reach for the ankles, and dragged the body away from the road and into the bushes.

* * *

><p><strong>Hellsing manor.<strong>

Ruby was brought to Hellsing and provided with dry clothes and another guest room. It was a different room than the one she stayed in before, with the addition of a large, flat-screen TV attached robustly to the wall opposite the huge four-poster bed. Frankly speaking, she'd spent more time in Hellsing than she did in her own apartment; she sighed as she lay back on the downy, king-sized duvet of her bed and stared at the ceiling, listening to the clock tick on the wall. Then, she closed her eyes and tried to relax; soon, she had completely drifted off.

She woke up after a few hours when she felt an additional presence in her room and re-opened her eyes to see Alucard standing to her right, having been watching her silently by the window.

On this occasion, he seemed...different. For once, his hair was undeniably longer... Thicker...Darker... and dare she say it..._curlier?_ He was also not adorned in his usual attire of the giant, hulking crimson coat, but rather, he was dressed in a white, silk shirt with long sleeves and the buttons undone all the way to his navel, exposing a generous amount of his chest, which had Ruby thinking twice if the lone individual in her room was in fact, Alucard. She squinted her eyes for a better look of him and noticed he also had a..._moustache? _And stubble. He had stubble, dotting his entire jaw and sideburns, giving him a somewhat wild, aggressive appearance.

"…Alucard?" Was it really him? And how did he manage to grow so much facial hair so quickly? She croaked, "...Er...What are you doing?"

"I was enjoying the view." He replied; his voice was gravelly and low, with a seductive edge. Either he meant the view of Integra's hedge maze outside her window, or her lying utterly defenceless and sleeping on the gargantuan, inviting bed. She glanced over when he strode towards her, joining her on the bed. She felt the mattress sink in and blinked up at him. "I did not mean to awaken you."

"…That's okay. What's up?"

"I feared I lost you."

"You mean back there?" She said, "Oh, Alucard." Ruby glanced up when she felt his hand brushing back her hair gently. "…You know, I should be going home. I shouldn't stay here; I mean, what if Sir Irons comes and sees me, sees us?"

"Then let him see."

"We'll be in trouble. _You'll _be in trouble."

He pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth, nibbling sensually, "We are all mature adults." He murmured, before he buried his nose into her neck to inhale her scent, which he found stunningly intoxicating. He groaned as he imagined what it would be like to be inside her, to feel her tight walls squeeze him. He managed to grate out, "...I'm sure we will resolve any matters he finds offending by means of professional and diplomatic methods…"

"I guess. Even Joshua's an adult. The only people who are older than him here are Mr Walter and you." She muttered, "How is he?"

"My master should be speaking to him for the moment. We have time to ourselves."

She yawned. "...I really wanna sleep..."

He didn't understand. Why was she so tired? She had slept soundly all day and afternoon last night. Was something wrong? If she was a vampire, she'd never be burdened by lethargy or exhaustion. He said, "But I want you," before he pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"It tickles." She suddenly said, and he realised she was talking about his moustache. "Why do you have... er...all the..uh..._decorations_?"

"...Do you like it?"

"Um, it's nice; it's a nice, new look, Alucard. You're so unpredictable."

He smirked and leant down to capture her lips in a heated kiss, stealing her breath away. She realised he was above her, caging her within himself but she was too sleepy to wriggle away; she closed her eyes, letting him kiss her without much protest and simply lay on the bed as he hovered above her. His arm slithered under her waist whilst the other scooped under her neck before he hauled her to arch against him in a passionate embrace.

Ruby shifted slightly as he began kissing her neck, his lips burning lavishly on her skin. She hesitated, before gradually lifting her arms to wrap around him accordingly as he fisted her hair, pressing them against each other as tightly as possible. She bit back a moan as her fingers danced over the thick muscles of his shoulders and up his neck into his thick, dark, tousled locks, feeling him tense for a split second under her touch before he shuddered, relaxing. Finally, she re-opened her eyes as he pulled away from her neck to tilt her head to side.

"Ruby…" He breathed, "I want you so much." He dipped his head, ruthlessly plunging her lips with his own again until she was gasping and out of breath, her face hot and flushed. She felt his fangs extend out of their usual length, pricking her bottom lip gently, forcing her mouth open. He thrust his tongue inside and licked the roof of her mouth enticingly. She honestly didn't know if she was dreaming. If it was a dream, a part of her earnestly wished she wouldn't be able to wake up.

The answer came when there was a loud knock on the door. It was enough to snap her out of her dazed state; Ruby pulled away and turned groggily to face the door, then swerved her gaze back to Alucard. "Someone's at the door." She croaked out breathlessly as an evident frown began to make its way to his face.

"Yes, I can hear them." He replied flatly, but he continued to occupy himself in kissing her neck. She tried to get up but he pushed her back down. "Ignore them."

"But it might be something important."

He watched her intently for a few seconds, then slowly got off her to sit back on the bed, silently granting her permission to open the door. Ruby sat back up and grabbed her crutches. She tidied her hair and wiped her neck dry and smoothed down her clothes. Once she was at the door, she opened it to reveal Joshua who was blinking up at her expectantly. "Josh?"

"Hi." He said meekly, "I've finished speaking to Sir Hellsing. She said I should stay here, so…yeah, I'll be staying here from now on. Seras will be teaching me some stuff tomorrow, but I can't participate in any missions yet. Mr Morris said he wants to run a few tests on me too."

"That's excellent, Josh! You'll be just fine." She placed her hand on his shoulder and he tensed up all over, but still managed to muster a thin, watery smile at her.

"Thank you, Ruby. Oh, um, I should go. I don't wanna bother you…"

"No, don't be silly, Josh; you're not bothering us at all! Do you want to come in? Alucard and I were just – " Ruby stopped as soon as she turned round.

Alucard was nowhere to be seen in her room.

**East Wing Basement.**

"Interesting…"

Morris was hunched over a microscope on the counter with booming rock music pounding relentlessly into his ears from a pair of headphones clamped over his head; he was in the research lab Integra had graciously provided him with. It was his working space from now on; during the first few days, he'd tried to grow used to the mansion but it was simply far too large. Instead, he merely took up sanctuary underground in one of the many basements, knowing all too well his next door neighbour was Alucard. He kept his noise pollution to a minimal.

Suddenly, the volume to his music was lowered; he looked up and there was Alucard standing beside his laptop with his finger on the volume button. "What is so interesting?" The vampire enquired.

Morris removed his headphones and left them around his neck. He pulled on the string dangling beside him that was attached to the ceiling, and the lightbulb switched on, illuminating them both in dim orange light. "Mr Alucard, I didn't hear you knock."

"Of course you didn't."

"It's how I work." Morris replied, switching off his Media Player entirely to indicate the vampire had his fullest attention. "How may I help you?"

Alucard moved away from the laptop and picked up a strange looking tong from the tray before placing it back down. He then leaned against one of the cupboards, watching Morris keenly. "What have you determined from the cure Joshua Sloan gave us?"

Morris pulled his goggles up to rest on his forehead and then took out the glass swab from the microscope and held it up. "Actually, it's not a cure. It's some kind of virus, or poison."

"Make up your mind."

"It's poison. Vampire poison."

"Poison."

"Yeah. Thank god Joshua didn't drink it. It could've killed him. One of the key components of this poison is blood, but not just any blood."

"A vampire's blood."

Morris nodded and returned the swab in the microscope. "Yep." He said, crossing his arms, "If you mix poisonous substances along with a vampire's blood, it will double the lethality. But the blood…it only constitutes 0.3 per cent. What I mean is a vampire's blood has been added to this and I can tell because the blood cells are different than a human's and an animal's – "

"Get to the point, Morris."

"Alright, alright. Anyway…when I was in America, we did research on vampire blood. They're like fossils. We learnt all about dinosaurs from their bones, yes? Then the same can go for vampires, only with their blood."

Alucard listened with a wide grin on his face. He was intrigued humans had discovered so much about vampires. Frankie Morris, a bumbling buffoon as he could often be, was surprisingly no exception.

Morris was still speaking, "Vampire blood cells and their mitochondrial DNA can tell you what age a vampire is, like the rings on a tree. I am positive the vampire whose blood was used in this poison is roughly about…four to five hundred years old. Roughly the same age as you, but a little younger."

"Impossible. That would mean he is… "

And Morris nodded while Alucard raised an eyebrow in response. "This vampire who we are dealing with…He may be one of the _First Vampires_. We need to speak to Integra immediately about this – "

"No need, I'm right here."

The duo turned to see Integra and Walter strolling down the stairs with the others trailing behind them; the 'others' included Seras, Ruby and new recruit Joshua, who were all marvelling the interior as if they were in a museum. Alucard watched Ruby; she was chatting with Seras as the two whispered to each other, before breaking into a fit of giggles. When Joshua blinked blankly at them, the two girls whispered to him before the boy too, ultimately began giggling in similar fashion. Alucard raised a thin eyebrow in response. 'Irritating' was the only word he would use to sum their behaviour up. It _was_ rather irritating...

"I hope you don't mind, Morris." said Integra, "I brought the others to show them your lab."

"Oh, no, not at all." Morris pulled his goggles off and began to tidy up a few papers and files away while Ruby caught sight of Alucard.

"There you are." She said as she hopped over with her crutches and stopped shortly in front of him. She realised his moustache and stubble had gone and he was back to his usual self, back to his usual appearence which she'd gotten used to. Even his coat had returned. She decided not to question him about it. "So this is where you went."

The corner of his lips tugged upwards into a smirk. His mate had been looking for him? A surge of contentment stirred inside him. "You were worried about me."

She blinked at him with her cerulean-blue eyes, then nodded as he reached for her hand and began to rub the back of her palm with his thumb. "Yeah, I was. I mean, one minute we were kis – I mean, I...was _**with **_you and then Joshua came, and when I turned back round you were gone and I said 'Hey where did Alucard go?' and then Joshua replied 'Maybe he went to get some blood from the fridge downstairs' and I - "

He gazed at her steadily. "Yes, yes..." He hadn't been listening properly, having been captivated by her moving, dusty pink lips as she spoke. He wanted to kiss her badly. He ached; his body felt like it was being scorched by fire. After the meeting, he thought, he'd make sure they were alone and he'd push her against the wall and -

"Er-hem." Integra cleared her throat loudly, bringing him out of his thoughts.

_Focus now_. _Concentrate. Master is speaking. _He grabbed Ruby from behind in a fashion that it was not obvious to the others and pulled her top up to a tiny extent so he could slip his hands underneath; he groaned inwardly from the feel of her skin as he wrapped his arms around her front, pressing her backwards into his chest. She turned to him questioningly but he merely gave her a fleeting glance from the bottom of his eye. He grinned, flashing one fang in a playful manner. In response, she blushed and quickly turned back to the front.

"If I could have your attention please…Yes, thank you. Firstly…about what happened tonight, I don't think Iscariot will lay a finger on Ruby again." Integra said, "…Although, leaving Alexander Anderson in a burning barn won't kill him..."

Joshua began to sweat slightly.

"Anyway, I've left the negotiations with the Vatican to Walter; attacking an innocent British civilian won't look good on their record. Now… about Joshua..." Integra glanced at the rest of them - Seras, Alucard, Joshua, Ruby and Morris, were standing in behind her whilst Walter stood beside her. She forced a wry smile at them; the Hellsing family was growing bigger and bigger slowly but surely, and it was becoming to consist of the most unlikely individuals, too. "We still have not concluded a possible reason for the theft of the knife. Vampires will be unable to use it, for example. It will be useless in their possession. My only guess is they wished to cause us trouble. Also, they attacked the Harker's but did not create any new vampires. Furthermore, from Joshua's description, we've had a few professional artists draw out a concept image of the man who gave him the cure - "

"_Poison_."

"Yes, poison."

"That's terrible. Victor Sloan was never promised the cure in the beginning at all. Everything he did was in vain." Seras said, while Joshua remained steely silent. A few seconds later, the boy waddled over to Ruby and grasped at the sleeve of her shirt, his head hanging low.

"Josh?"

The boy made no sound, not even a peep. He continued staring forlornly at the ground.

"Oh, Josh…"

Integra cleared her throat and Walter came over with a folder under his arm, which he handed to the director. She thanked him, opened it and then took out a few photocopies before handing one each to everyone. "Let's move on, shall we? Here is the sketch of the man. Remember his face."

The photocopy contained a portrait of a young man drawn in charcoal; Ruby cocked her head to the side. He appeared to be Caucasian, and he was attractive, with tussled raven hair that reached past his ears but not to the base of his neck…his face was long, and he had an angular, but narrow, long-bridged nose and slender jawline and prominent chin… Ruby gulped inwardly as she let herself familiarise with the portrait. _He's kinda cute._ She thought, but then she turned to Alucard and realised he was watching her with much regard; she grinned sheepishly at him. _But Alucard's first._

"Who is he?" Seras asked, squinting her eyes at the picture.

"This man may be the leader of the Black Flame Knights. He may be one of the First Vampires too, if the blood in this poison belongs to him. Overall, he is a highly dangerous individual. He is also in command of the vampire named Luther. However, we are unsure of what he may be capable of. I have alerted the Commissioner; if we find him, extreme precaution must be taken."

"So…who are the First Vampires anyway?" Seras asked, glancing from Alucard to Integra, and back to Alucard. "And how come Master has never told me this?"

"Because we did not believe they still existed." The Director replied stoically, "They are humans who were turned into vampires by Alucard directly. A prime example are Dracula's brides; Seras can also be considered as one of the First Vampires."

Seras blinked, then pointed to herself. "Huh? Me?"

"But the term 'First' does not only apply to those turned by Alucard. First Vampires can also be any human turned by First Vampire themselves."

_That's confusing_, Ruby thought to herself.

Integra continued. "The First are stronger compared to the vampires we deal with now, far stronger than those vampires in fact. Humans who are turned by other vampires who were also turned by other vampires, and not by Alucard himself, are weaker. You can say…Vampires have 'family trees'. Alucard is at the very beginning, and therefore, he is the strongest. Any other human to be bitten by Alucard himself and turned is therefore considered one of the 'First Vampires'." She explained, "A vampire's power diminishes as this 'family tree' goes larger and larger thus extending the number of branches this family tree has - Because the humans who are turned by other vampires and not by Alucard are generally weaker, I can say that the vampires we deal with now in this generation, are, in fact, weaker than they were compared to the past."

…..

"I hope Josh is okay."

"The Sniffer Dog has to be."

"Why do you insist on calling him that?"

"Because that is what he is."

Once the meeting at Morris' lab was over, Alucard and Ruby returned back upstairs. She wasn't sure what would happen from now on, but it appeared the circumstances were very bleak. She glanced at Alucard from the corner of her eyes as she limped beside him on her crutches; he appeared stuck in thought and she was determined to find out what was bugging him. "What's wrong? You seem a little distracted." She asked.

He took a while to reply. "…The vampire we are dealing with are one of the First." He gestured to the photocopy Ruby had kept with her. "…This man…"

She unfolded the portrait. "You recognise him?"

"No, I do not. I have many victims, but I do not recall him. However...I am beginning to find myself remembering more and more about my brides."

"…Oh." She said, her expression seemed to have fallen. "I see."

"I do not remember their names. It is a haze…And their appearances…It is not a thorough image, but..." He stopped when he realised she wasn't looking at him but rather, at the floor. "Ruby, I am telling you this as I trust you not to misunderstand me when I tell you such things."

"It's okay. I understand. Can I ask you something though?" She asked; he said nothing but prompted her to continue. Ruby took a deep breath. "…If I wasn't your mate…" She began anxiously, "Would you still like me? If I didn't have the blood, that is. The 'bride blood', let's just call it that. If I didn't have it…would you still like me? I mean, if I didn't have it, then…there's nothing about me."

He wondered if she had really called it 'bride blood'. Apparently she did. "Of course." He replied, "You are a pleasant girl. You are attractive…Intriguing…enthusiastic…unrealistically optimistic…With desirable qualities such as those, no man would be able to resist you."

"…Really?"

"Yes," He asserted, "You should not ask me such ridiculous questions."

She stopped following him, watching his retreating back. Sensing that she was no longer walking with him, he turned back round and gazed at her expectantly. Ruby tensed up slightly when their eyes met, then found herself gradually picking up pace. She hopped over with her head low and stopped beside him. His lips tugged upwards into a smirk, before he removed his hat swiftly and bowed at her; she limped backwards as she stared at his display, blinking numbly when he reared back up before offering his hand to her. Ruby looked up at him again questioningly, then at his hand. She accepted, letting go of one crutch to slide her small hand into his and flashed him a meek smile when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her palm.

"I am yours, Ruby, and you are mine." He murmured, his eyes landing on her in a sultry gaze, "I will protect you with my life."

She stilled, and he sensed her slight hesitation; he let go of her hand and reached into his mouth. "…What are you doing?" Ruby gazed with widened eyes as she saw him reach with his right hand, before his fingers clamped down and gave a rough twist and a pull.

"Your hand, please." He said, as he lowered his fist. Blood dribbled from the corner of his lips to the rugged outline of his jaw but he didn't seem the least affected by it at all.

She held out her hand as requested, eyeing his bloodied chin warily, and he placed something weighty into her palm, then pressed her fingers to curl around it with his own. She stared at his blood oozing out and dripping through the cracks of her fingers and onto the prized carpet below, then shakily opened her hand again.

Drenched in blood, a sharp and long, tool-like item sat in the middle of her palm.

She gasped.

It was a _fang_.  
>He'd given her one of his fangs.<p>

Ruby gaped at the thoughtful present, and swallowed down. Surprisingly enough, she did not even have the urge to scream or chuck it out as one might do. Instead, she merely held it. Alucard's fang was bigger than she expected. It was larger, and far wider and heavier than a normal tooth, that was for certain. It was not an ivory shade, but it rather resembled an intense but greyish-white, gleaming piece of marble with a sharpened edge that looked like it could prick even the thinnest veins in one's body. It had also dried, with a slight glossy but rubbery, and almost…dead, feeling, as though the fang was no longer working. No longer…alive.

"You didn't have to do that." She squeaked, with a handful of Alucard-fang.

"You needn't worry. It was not painful or uncomfortable. Another fang will grow back in its place quickly." He stretched open his mouth for her to see, where she realised that it appeared he had not lost any fangs at all.

"…Why did you give me your fang?"

He neatly wiped his blood away from his chin. "I wanted you to know how much you mean to me."

She stared at him in silence, before a rosy stain appeared on her cheeks.

"It is also for protection. It can penetrate any surface, and will not yield, not even to metal, whether it be iron or steel."

"Not at all?"

"No."

"Oh, I see, so you expect me to use it as self-defence. I could try and make it into a little teeny-weeny dagger." She giggled. _But I might poke my own eye out if I'm not careful…Or, I could make it into a necklace…but still, it'll be Alucard's tooth I'll have around my neck if that's the case. _"Thank you. I'll cherish it forever."

He watched her slip his fang into her pocket, and smile up at him. This would be the first time he'd seen her smile properly, especially AT him. He'd gotten used to seeing her frowning or glaring or having this equally exasperated, annoyed, frustrated or tired expression aimed at him. If only she smiled more; it lit up her features stupendously and endowed her with a whole different perspective. Alucard smirked in response and reached over to her, his lips by her ear. "Ruby, you are so beautiful." He murmured, and her blush spread like wildfire, her ears going red, too.

"D-Don't say that. I...I'm not..._beautiful_." She mumbled awkwardly, scratching at the back of her elbow. A man had never said that to her before. She wasn't sure how to react; all she seemed capable of doing was hunching under her clothes and hanging her head low. She was shy. _Very_ shy. It amused him to no end. He chuckled and took one of her crutches, then reached for her hand again and looped his fingers around hers; she gazed at their intertwined hands, and squeaked.

"Yes, you are." He asserted, as they continued to make their way back upstairs.

She couldn't stop blushing; her cheeks were possibly as hot as the surface of the sun. She cleared her throat; "Um... I have something for you too." Once they returned to her guest room, she hopped over to the basket on the table that contained an assortment of fruit. She delved her hand in and plucked out a small fruit knife, holding it in her hand. She held the handle, clenched in her tiny palm, blade sticking outwards as it neared her arm, and he watched on inquisitively, then she rolled up her sleeve and revealed her wrist to him. "…My blood."

He stared fixedly at her with stunned silence.

"It might help you not go crazy if…if I give you controlled amounts, hopefully." Ruby said with a gulp, although she sounded unsure with herself. "You can get used to it, and hopefully..._not_ go berserk next time."

"Why?"

"…Well, you've never drunk my blood properly before. Just a few drops, right? So, I'm going to allow you to have some more."

"You indisputably wish to offer me your blood?"

Ruby nodded.

Her heart began thumping harder as she watched Alucard gaze back at her steadily, keenly. Then she slid her anxious gaze to the blade of the knife, watching the length of cool steel glimmer under the light of her room, beckoning her to slice herself with the cutting edge. She didn't really want to do it. As much as she was a nurse and accustomed to seeing blood and injuries on other people, she didn't want to cut herself.

_But for Alucard…I'm willing._

Ruby raised the knife and -

A grip on her wrist stopped her in mid-action before the blade went slashing down over her skin and she whipped her head up in shock. It was Alucard; he had prevented her. "No," He said quietly, solemnly. "I just want you. You are enough. I do not wish for you to inflict harm unto yourself. I can bestow you all the gifts I desire, but you cannot harm yourself for me."

Ruby blinked wide-eyed, and with his hand loosening around her wrist, she slowly lowered the knife and dropped it back over the table. She inhaled shakily as it clattered over the surface. "But…"

He stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her cheek, stroking her jawline affectionately before using his thumb to brush over her bottom lip. "Love me." He murmured, "Love me forever, Ruby. Can you do that?"

She nodded again. "…Yes."

Alucard brought her into his embrace and captured her lips with his kiss again. This time, she did not resist him either to his delight and let him ravish her bottom lip passionately; she moaned against him as their lips came into heated contact with each other again and again, moulding perfectly. When they broke apart, he grinned at how flustered she was and embraced her tightly once more.

They remained in each other's hold for a few seconds until she pulled away from him slightly. "...Something's been bugging me, Alucard."

"What is it, my bride?"

"About that picture of that man… The supposed Leader of the Black Flame Knights?"

"Yes, what about him?"

"…I wonder what kind of person he is."

* * *

><p>Caelum stopped drinking and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand then looked at his hand. Still dirty. He used the length of his arm next and glanced at his sleeve.<p>

Blood.  
>There was lots and lots of blood.<p>

He glanced down at the dismembered body, then sighed.

He felt like a cannibal.  
>But he was not one.<p>

He looked human and was forced to hunt down what he was, formerly - No, that was not true. He could have hunted a deer, or any large creature that was warm-blooded. He did not have to attack a human. He didn't have to attack that taxi driver. He had a choice. He didn't need the flesh, he just wanted the blood. Flesh was useless to him. He could have just snuck into those poorly guarded hospitals and stole blood packs. But no, he went straight to slaughter a human. A human he didn't even know. _A human, who –_

Caelum rifled through the clothes and found the wallet of the taxi driver along with a photograph inside.

_A human, who was called Eric Stanton. Aged 45, with a wife and three kids…_

…A human who he chopped the head off and then fed on the blood like a monster. It was then he realised he did not leave a body for the family to bury. Caelum picked up the arms and legs he'd severed, just to get to the blood more easily. He could send his victim in bits and pieces, if he really wanted to…

He justified his actions, by graciously reminding himself he'd have turned the man into a ghoul if he had just bitten him, which he didn't want. Ghouls were annoying and generally unpleasant and if he let it roam, then it'd just attack more humans and create more ghouls. Caelum sat, surrounded by nothing but guts and piles of human flesh and bone which he'd left untouched. The truth was, all the humans looked identical to him now. They all looked the same and smelt the same. There was no difference than the woman who served him in the coffee shop than the woman who served him in the clothes store. He wasn't able to distinguish them apart anymore.

Emilia was wrong about him.

_There is no such thing as a good vampire._

He closed his eyes…  
>…and started to laugh.<p>

He did it again.

He destroyed another family.

Caelum didn't used to be like this. Yes, he was a vampire, and he needed blood, but the additional strength and powers meant he could do things no man could ever dream of. There was a time when he loved humans and protected them against his own kind…

…but that was a long time ago.

* * *

><p>In this chapter, Alucard reverted to his 'Vlad Tepes' look to see what Ruby would think of him but he didn't release any control restrictions or anything. His fang was also a token of luuuuuuurv lol<p>

And now this story has reached Chapter 20! So here are the 'special features' of today's chapter:

**Vampire myth/theories **_(I_ _made it up_)**:**

- The weapons used by Abraham van Helsing etc that were used to defeat Dracula have become 'blessed' to be able to kill vampires with no problem  
>- Vampire blood can tell the age of a vampire<br>- Vampire blood can also double the effect. In this chapter, it doubled the lethality of poison  
>- Vampires can't produce offspring. Their 'children' are the humans they turn into vampires<br>- Humans turned by Alucard (ie, the brides) along with their victims are specially known as the 'First vampires'.

Furthermore, I decided to add profiles of the OCs of this story. I have recently started doing this for my stories just so people will know who's who and not get confused (and this basically sums up the story, too)

**OC Profiles:**

_The Goodies:_

**Name:** Ruby Ashcroft _(originally meant to be called 'Ruby Diamond' lol)_  
>20 yrs old. Alucard's mate and a first year trainee nurse who recently broke her ankle. A reserved, shy and quiet girl. Her parents are Catholic but she is an atheist. She's also a complete and utter dork when it comes to Alucard's affections.<p>

**Name:** Frankie Morris _(it was either that or Chuck)  
><em>26 yrs old. An American vampire hunter who inherited the Bowie Knife. Has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is more knowledgeable than practical and described by Ruby as being 'eccentric' and 'a bookish, nerd-ish type'. He was sent by Sir Irons to keep an eye on Alucard and Ruby but is okay with their relationship because he likes to think outside the box.

**Name:** Joshua Sloan  
>Minor character. Victor Sloan's son. Has brown hair and green eyes. Although he is 45 yrs old, he still has the mentality of a 15 yr old. He is a benevolent vampire with expert tracking abilities earning his nickname 'Little Sniffer Dog' by Alucard. Likes skateboarding.<p>

_The Baddies_

**Name:** Caelum  
>Major baddie. One of the First Vampires, roughly around 400 yrs old. He looks in his early-twenties and has black hair and red eyes and wears a lot of black in general. He is the President of a corporation called 'Oracle' and leader of the Black Flame Knights; he gave Joshua a 'cure' which turned out to be poison. The vampires who follow him are known as the 'Legion'. A concept picture of him is up on my deviantart (although it doesn't really fit him).<p>

**Name:** Luther  
>Minor baddie. Age unknown, but also looks in his early-twenties. Caelum's trump card. His agility makes up for his lack of strength. He is an albino, with white hair and pink eyes. He has a disfigured mouth (which means he cannot suck blood or speak) but when his mouth is closed he looks like an ordinary man. A picture of him is also up on my deviantart.<p>

**Name:** Ermenrich _(or Ermen for short)_  
>Minor baddie. One of Caelum's henchmen. Age unknown. Big and brawny but speaks politely; he is dark-haired with brown eyes. He is in charge of finding participants for the tournament. He is stronger than Luther but slower.<p>

_The others:_

**Name:** Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft  
>Ruby's parents. Samuel holds a strong disdain for his daughter after she ran away; but they did get along when Ruby was really young. Dahlia is more caring but is helpless in making amends to their relationship.<p>

**Name:** Emilia  
>A girl who appeared in Caelum's memory-dream. He saved her 'when the bombs hit'<p>

**Name:** Mary  
>A mysterious woman who was once Ruby's carer when she was younger.<p> 


	21. Attack of the Fake Ruby

HOLY AFHCNVJKERKDLL! Sorry for the caps lock keyboard mash but I could NOT bring myself to write some parts of this chapter. This chapter was difficult and painful at some points. You will see why!

**Warning:** Swearing, violence, OOC, and lemony stuff.

* * *

><p><em>Surrender to Desire<br>(aka __Attack of the Fake Ruby)_

**Oracle Corporation. Caelum's room.**

When he arrived home, he slipped into his room as quietly as possible and rid himself of his jacket, then turned round to see Ermen, who had his arms folded, eyeing him warily. "Where did you go?"

Caelum glanced down at himself. He was drenched with rain and patches of dirt and blood. Not his own, of course. He began to undo his tie, hanging his coat up on the hook, leaving himself in his waistcoat. "I went hunting. Do I have to tell you where I go every time I want to go out?"

"…No, but I thought you said hunting was beneath you. If Emilia saw you the way you are now, she'd be upset."

He stopped in his pace.

In a matter of seconds, Ermen was hurled off his feet and thrown against the far wall that he smashed through the wall and into the room next door. Luther was inside, having been meditating on the bed before Ermen arrived unannounced; the albino vampire opened his eyes immediately and glanced over, to see Ermen lying amongst the debris, now pinned down to the ground by a foot over his throat. Astonished, Ermen looked up to see Caelum; his face was vivid, reddening with fury, his lips curled into a brutal snarl.

"Don't you dare use Emilia on me!" He roared, "You are not fit to speak her name nor think it – mention her again, and _I'll kill you_."

As Caelum raised his arm, Luther got off the bed and grabbed onto his sleeve, shaking his head. Caelum turned to the albino, who shook his head even vigorously to get his message across. Growling under his breath, Caelum then lifted his foot off Ermen's throat; he rubbed at his neck, then hastily moved to one knee and lowered his head.

"Forgive me, sir. I'm terribly sorry."

Caelum's mouth moved. At first, he considered apologising, but then he clenched his fist and turned away. "…What else do you have to report?"

"Alexander Anderson has left Britain."

"That's not good. He was meant to keep us off Hellsing's trail for a little longer."

"Joshua Sloan has joined Hellsing." Ermen added. "He also gave them the poison. I really don't understand exactly what it is you are trying to accomplish here, sir."

Caelum returned into his room through the broken wall, sauntered to his desk and crossed his legs as he sat on his swivel chair, rifling through some boxes that were propped up. "You'll see soon enough. It seems Ruby Ashcroft has escaped from another life-threatening ordeal with barely a scratch. What a lucky girl."

While Luther gazed at his broken wall before rolling his eyes, Ermen followed Caelum back into the room. "…I don't understand how you can be so calm about this, sir. Oracle won't last long if you keep this up."

"We'll be fine." The president reassured, "I already have the kukri knife, and now the owner of the Bowie knife has conveniently come to Britain, too. That vampire hunter has no idea what he's step his foot into. All we need to do now is get that, and then get Abraham van Helsing's stake and cross." Wringing his hands together, a maniacal grin spread over his features quickly. "_Everything's falling into place_. Now we just need the final piece to put my plan into action."

"Final piece?"

"Alucard's mate. She is the key."

"Of course, sir."

Caelum turned to Ermen and added, "But I need another distraction since Anderson didn't last as long as I hoped, Ermen. I trust you to think of something for me."

"Yes, sir. I'll find Nadia. She'll know what to do."

* * *

><p>The next morning at Hellsing, Ruby awoke to remember that she had a hospital appointment in the afternoon. However, what happened during yesterday's meeting at the lab lingered on her mind; Alucard departed to Integra's office along with Morris, Seras, and possibly Joshua. What they had discussed hadn't been explained to her. She couldn't help but feel a little left out. Ruby left her room after changing; Integra had also ordered another chauffeured car to pick her up.<p>

Integra recommended her not to return to a home where she would be living alone, in case anything else happened. Ruby sighed; she only moved into the apartment for a very short time and had enjoyed her privacy and the feeling of freedom. Also, Alucard said he'd requested permission to often visit her – and now all that seemed to have been in vain for she'd decided to stay at her parents. She grabbed Alucard's fang and slipped it into her pocket, then left her room to see the vampire outside; he had been waiting for her, which surprised her, since she recounted the many times she woke up to see him lying beside her on the bed, watching her stir awake.

"Alucard?" She said, but he grabbed her and hauled her into his arms, before he smashed his lips against hers, stealing a quick, but deep, sensual kiss; her brain turned to mush from the action and when he let go, she blinked at him wide-eyed, her cheeks reddening when he licked his lips.

"Delicious." He murmured, and her heartbeat soared to an astronomical rate.

"W-What was that for?"

"Are my affections far too much for you to handle?"

"N-n-no, but…" She cringed, when her response only caused his smirk to widen and his hand slipped down her backside, squeezing her rear. She squeaked in response, leaping up slightly as he chuckled. She mumbled, "…Are you heading out?"

"Police Girl and I are going on a hunt, yes. It shouldn't take long." He took her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles, "You needn't worry, I will return for you, my love."

Her heart made a frantic lurch against her ribs. Alucard was a real smooth-talker, a charmer, a genuine ladies man. He was also aware of that all too well, and he basked in it with a much foreseeable smugness. She did not want him to know he'd charmed the pants off her. First, he dipped her into a kiss, then he'd kissed her hand and called her 'my love'. It wouldn't be surprising if she fainted in his arms with a hand over her forehead from his wooing overkill. But she didn't. She managed to stand her ground.

"My Master has prepared a car for you to return home."

"Great, but I'm thinking of moving out of the apartment. It'll be safer if I go back to live with my mum and dad. I'm going to start packing today when I get back."

"From your hospital appointment."

"Yep."

"And when is that?"

"Half four. I'll probably be back by half five or six. It's just a check-up."

"I shall offer you my assistance when I return."

"Nah, it's okay. I'm fine, I'll ask Gwen for help or something."

He gave her a long look, then smirked, pressed his lips on her forehead and groped her again. When she finally came to her senses, Alucard was already gone. Somehow, she had the feeling that Alucard might pop up in her house regardless, maybe around half 5, as she blurted out so gladly without thinking twice. She glanced around, but the hall was completely devoid of his presence. She frowned inwardly that he'd left her like this, needy and wanting. Ruby shook her head to clear away such thoughts, then sighed…but she could not deny it; she was falling for Alucard, _hard_.

Ruby continued downstairs and entered a long corridor that would supposedly lead her to the guest's courtyard where the car would be waiting for her.

However, she caught sight of something silvery, something shining and glimmering proudly in a glass display cabinet in the far end of one of the rooms she had limped past. Ruby stopped, her eyes fixed on the elaborate silver cross and stake that were propped up on a cushion of red velvet and gold embroidery. She glanced around, but there was no-one inside the room. Had someone accidentally left the door unlocked?

She gulped as she noticed the placard on the door said 'PRIVATE: DO NOT ENTER'; however, she found herself disobeying that rule on the door and hopped in, her short attention span, outlandish curiosity and blue eyes captivated by the beautiful, shimmering cross. It was big, much bigger than the average cross that would be seen attached to a necklace…it was perhaps the length of her arm…it was exquisite…

As she approached the glass cabinet, she looked around and realised it was a treasure room of some sort. Not only were the silver cross and stake on display, but there were other various artefacts, ranging from beautifully sculpted knives, exotic bows and quivers of arrows, spearheads and axes. What was this extravagant display of medieval weaponry? Curiously, Ruby reached a hand forwards to the cross until…

"Careful; you don't want to trigger security."

Ruby gasped and pulled back, then caught sight of three sets of thin, red, laser beams surrounding the glass cabinet.

"I see you have found my ancestor's stake and silver cross." Integra said; she was standing in the doorway. Immediately, Ruby began babbling out her apologies and excuses for coming into the room although clearly knowing that she was not allowed to. Integra chuckled, as Ruby bowed and bowed relentlessly. "It's alright, Miss Ashcroft." She assured the girl, but she led the stray sheep away from the priceless artefacts back to the corridor, closed the door behind them and locked it with the key from her pocket. Morris must have been in here earlier for research and forgot to lock it.

"That stake and cross on display… it's not real, is it?"

Integra seemed surprised Ruby would ask her that question. "…It is. It is the exact silver cross and stake my ancestor used to defeat Dracula. My father put it up here for display. Personally, I requested he put it away somewhere safer and out of reach, but my father was keen to leave it behind the doors of a glass cabinet to entertain the guests."

Ruby pondered briefly. It seemed to be in pristine condition for something that was at least a hundred years old. Items like those deserved to be put in a museum, she thought. _Did that stake really stab Alucard all those years ago?_

Integra helped lead her out of the corridor to the courtyard; Ruby thanked the Director and Walter for their splendid hospitality, bid farewell to Seras and Mr Morris for the time being, and then she ruffled Joshua's hair and told him to train hard and that she would come visit some time.

The dracul watched her despondently from the second storey window of the games room as she piled into the car and was driven off.

"I think he's taken a liking to her." Morris said; he and Seras passed the corridor carrying equipment to the storeroom, at the same time catching an eyeful of Joshua gazing outside the window. "Maybe someday, when he grows stronger, he'll want to become Miss Ashcroft's protector."

Seras turned to him in surprise. "What do you mean, Mr Morris?"

"I came across a few interesting cases during my travels," He replied, "Some vampires meet humans which they take a strong penchant to, and can swear fealty to them as a guardian or servant. They will often recognise this human as their potential 'Master', much like how Mr Alucard is to Integra, and vice versa. You see, when news spread, it became an interesting worldwide phenomenal for benevolent vampires to find a human master."

* * *

><p><strong>Later.<strong>

"Ruby Ashcroft?"

A nurse had called her in to see the doctor. Ruby put down the lipgloss she had been using and slipped it into her bag along with her pocket mirror, and picked up her crutches.

"Follow me, please." She said, smiling at Ruby as she held her clipboard under one arm. The nurse was pretty, her golden-blonde hair contrasting deeply with her blue scrubs. "And how are you today, Miss Ashcroft?"

Ruby trailed after the nurse as requested. "I'm good. I got a lift to the hospital so it wasn't hard coming in or anything." They took a few twisting turns down numerous corridors, far away from the main public waiting area, before the nurse finally stopped outside a door.

"In here, please. The doctor will be here with you shortly."

"Thanks." Ruby hobbled into the room as soon as the nurse opened the door for her. However, as soon as she glanced to the right, she saw a huge cupboard with supplies and cleaning equipment. She realised the room the nurse had led her into was, in fact, a storeroom. "Hey, wait a minute – "

She was cut off when a blow slammed into the back of her neck.

…

When Ruby woke up, she was lying on the ground. Her wrists, ankles and arms were also tied together by rope. A lone briefcase sat a distance away from her. She remembered that Alucard told her she would occasionally 'face mortal peril'. Maybe they would become the norm from now on. However, what was worse was that she had been stripped to her underwear. This was…new. Shivering, she glanced up to see the same nurse from before pacing up and down the room restlessly, dressed in Ruby's clothes.

The nurse had her back to her with Ruby's phone pressed against her ear. "What? I'm not allowed to bite her? But why? It's easier that way!" She exclaimed angrily, but not loud enough to catch the attention of all hospital staff, while Ruby wriggled and inched around, trying to get free. "Alright, fine." The nurse sighed, then hung up. She promptly turned round after shoving the phone back into her pocket and Ruby squeaked. "Oh, you've woken up."

"Who are you and what do you want with me?"

However, the nurse ignored her and opened the briefcase in the corner, revealing a bloodpack and transfusion set, including needles, and IV Tube. Ruby gawked in horror as the nurse in Ruby's clothes began to set it up; what was going on? What was –

"Hold still." The nurse pulled out a roll of duct tape, snipped off a long piece and pressed it over her mouth.

Ruby screamed and yelled but it was no use; she shook her head as the nurse then turned to the briefcase, then neared her with the needle, which was attached to a long, thin catheter. No, no, no, she was NOT going to stick that into her. Ruby thrashed around but the nurse held her down using one arm with ridiculous strength and pushed up her sleeve. The nurse stuck the needle into her own arm, and then the other corresponding needle was thrust into Ruby's arm in seconds and she yelped.

Blood shot out and into the catheter, turning the clear plastic tube into a thick, deep, carmine colour. Ruby watched the blood transfusion in horror until the needle was suddenly pried out of her arm. The nurse stood up, and Ruby stared wide-eyed as the nurse's features began to erode away. Her blonde hair began to turn….brown…. Ruby's shade of brown…and her eyes…the nurse's eyes turned blue and…

Ruby stared at her doppelganger in front of her in disbelief. _She looks exactly like me! No, she IS me? How is that even possible?_

Fake Ruby grinned down at her and reached over for her backpack and crutches. "And if you excuse me," She said, in Ruby's voice; then the double reached into the bag and took out Ruby's lipgloss and smeared some over her lips. "…I have a date with the No-Life King."

….

Alucard drifted into Ruby's apartment but did not see any sign of her despite her shoes and crutches propped up near the front door. He'd finished his vampire hunt with Police Girl and Morris; now that Morris was with them, hunts were completed at a faster rate than before.

"Ruby?" He called.

A figure slinked into the doorway of the room and he turned round. There was Ruby, leaning against the doorframe to her bedroom, in the flimsy, silky agent provocateur nightdress he had wanted her to wear not too long ago one fateful night. The dress itself was a vision… seeing her wear it was an eyeful. He found himself staring at the length of her legs. The dress exposed a lot of flesh…a lot of flesh he had wanted to see but flesh which she routinely kept covered up by those high-collared cashmere sweaters and hooded black tops she wore. The dress pushed her cleavage into view, highlighted by a fluffy collar around her neck. Even her hair was curled, and she'd applied some lipgloss on her usually light pink lips as she smiled at him.

"…Ruby… You're…" He began, as she strode up to him and draped her arms around his neck.

"Do you like it?" She reached up to him, and began kissing the side of his neck.

He raised an eyebrow; he'd been around Ruby too long to know that this was not Ruby. She looked like her and smelled like her, but it was not her…

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile, back at the hospital…<strong>

"Ruby? …Ruby? Wake up!"

Ruby awoke groggily in the storeroom to see Gwen with her hands on her shoulders, shaking her. She sat up abruptly, looking around. The piece of duct tape had vanished from her mouth; Gwen must've pulled it off, and Ruby breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened to you? And why are you in your underwear?" Gwen untied her and helped her sit up before wrapping a thin blanket around her.

"…I...I don't know...What…what are you doing here, Gwen?" Ruby croaked out, shivering and trembling.

"Thank god I found you. I was working a shift and then I saw you come in but you had crutches. I'm sorry, I checked your record, I mean…you never told me you broke your foot. It said you had a check-up in Radiotherapy but you went with that nurse to a different department so I thought that was kind of weird. Then I saw you leave this room and I said 'Hi' but you gave me this really dirty look, and then I opened this door and – "

"You found me, lying on the floor and tied up."

"Yeah. Do you have a twin sister you never told me about?" Gwen asked, "...Is she evil?"

"Huh? Oh. Uh…yeah, she's evil."

"I knew it!"

Ruby suddenly jolted upright. The nurse. She stole Ruby's clothes and blood and then somehow, she managed to transform into Ruby. The nurse was a…a… Ruby had no idea what she was, but she knew she was no good and Ruby had to do something. She glanced around the storeroom; that was right - the nurse stole her bag, her crutches, her phone… "Gwen, gimme your phone. I need to make a call."

"Uh...Sure."

Ruby took the phone and quickly dialled Hellsing. It was a godsend Integra had given her the number to her office before Ruby left in case of emergency, and it was a godsend Ruby had decided to memorise it, too. She waited impatiently for someone to pick up. "Come on come on come on somebody pick up damn it!" And then -

"Good afternoon, Hellsing Front Office, Walter speaking, how may I help you?"

She was about to burst into tears of joy from the sound of his voice. "Walter!" She screamed down the phone, sniffling slightly.

"Ah, Miss Ashcroft. How may I help you?"

"Walter help me I think there's a shapeshifter vampire she attacked me and stole all my stuff and now she's taken my form and gone after Alucard!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Ashcroft, you have to speak a little slowly."

Ruby was breathing heavily, panic-stricken. "I was attacked by this…this…va – I mean, _person_, who took my blood and then she-she turned herself to look like me, turned**_ into_** me, and now she's gone after Alucard!" She exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Oh my. I see. I will alert Sir Integra immediately. Thank you for calling."

"W-Wait! What do…What do I do? How can I help?"

"Stay right where you are now. The Director will contact Alucard right away and tell him."

"O-Okay. T-thank you, Walter."

"You are welcome, Miss Ashcroft. Have a good day." said Walter, before the phone went dead. Ruby blinked, listening to the flat dial tone. _Have a good day?_That was it? She felt like nothing had been done, despite Walter's reassurance. She shook her head. No, she didn't want to stay here. She had to see what was going on. She tried to work out where the Fake Ruby might head off…

She gasped. _My house! Oh shit, she's stolen all my stuff. She'll find the apartment for sure… And Alucard said he'll come over in a few hours. Hell, maybe he's already there._

"Uh…Ruby? What was all that about?"

Remembering that she had been in Gwen's presence the entire time, she blushed and quickly deleted the Hellsing number off Gwen's call log and grabbed her friend by the arm. "Gwen, what time is it?"

"Er…it's about five thirty."

"Oh god!"

"What?"

"Alucard should be at my apartment! I need you to drive me there NOW. I'll give the directions. _Please, Gwen_."

"…well, I did just finish work and I…Wait…Tell me what's going on first."

Ruby swallowed down, but then she found herself babbling out, "Okay, I know this might sound totally crazy to you, but… I just got attacked by this woman who stole my clothes and my lipgloss and my blood and then turned herself to look EXACTLY like me. And now she's going after Alucard as _me_."

"Your evil twin's trying to steal your boyfriend?" She stood up immediately, and turned to Ruby before grabbing her hand and hauling her up to stand. "Come on, let's nail this bitch!"

**8 minutes, 34 seconds later.**

Gwen dropped Ruby off at the apartment complex; never had there been a car journey consisting of so much car-dodging, lane-jumping, road rage, horn-honking, middle-finger-extending and red-traffic-light-ignoring in a lifetime. The car had also been chugging down the road at a speed akin to 150 mph, and Ruby clambered out once they arrived, her legs wobbling and shaky. She managed to limp over to the door as Gwen yelled 'Good luck', and she threw open the door, then stared at the spiralling staircase awaiting her that suddenly looked like the path to Mt Everest.

Grumbling, Ruby scaled the stairs and arrived at her corridor. She saw Munroe step out of his apartment, his door still open, and he turned to her. He gave her a look as he recalled how she sic'ed her gigantic, eight-eyed dog on him, but he said, out of courtesy, "Good after – "

"GET OUTTA MY WAY!"

She literally shoved him back inside his house before she hastily unlocked the door to her apartment, fearing the worst. She stared at the empty living room then nervously gazed at the bedroom. Ruby tiptoed over and peering through the small crack of the door into the room, she cocked her head to the side. There was Fake Ruby and Alucard – they hadn't noticed her yet, it seemed. _Wow, is that how I look from behind? _She thought, before her eyes widened promptly. _What the…? SHE'S STRADDLING HIM? And he…he's not doing anything?_

In the room, and Alucard was saying, "I must applaud you for your desperate, vain attempt and effort to seduce me whilst under the guise of my mate. Explain to me why you look exactly like my mate, or else you will force my hand."

Fake Ruby let out an astonished gasp and glanced down; she slowly got off him, the nozzle of the Casull was pressed into her stomach. She sat back up in the bed and slipped off, standing. "Just don't forget what you are doing here, _Alucard_." The Fake Ruby spat at him as she held her arms up in defeat, "If you shoot me, you're killing the very _image_ of your mate. For all you know, I could be her. I could take her place, if you let me. There is no catch; I'm compliant, I look like her, I smell like her…I can offer you comfort. I'll pleasure you for all eternity…"

Back outside and Real Ruby's mouth dropped to the ground in horror; her nails dug into the doorframe, splinters were sent flying. She didn't know what to do – confront her double (although she could get killed)? Or should she still continue watching this macabre situation? However, Alucard merely smirked at the suggestion, his lips tugging upwards into a cruel sneer.

Fake Ruby frowned. "What's so funny?"

"You do not ask to become my bride." He replied, "I choose who I want. And you are not worthy. You are not even worthy to speak her name. She is not a whore like you. She does not give into me so easily, even when I wooed her by all means that would have left most women grovelling at my feet. No, in fact, she was impervious to everything I had and could offer to her. There is a barrier around her, which I enjoyed uncovering brick by brick over time. That is what I admire about her. She is not 'compliant', as you describe yourself. She is a human, yes, but thrilling and enticing, and stubborn to the very end. What can I say? I enjoy a good hunt."

"Y-You bastard!"

"Oh, yes, and Ruby is…_unpredictable_. You may look like her, and you may smell like her…but you will never take her place in my heart."

"Unpredictable? What are you talk – " Fake Ruby was interrupted by a hand tapping her on her shoulder from behind. She turned round and -

**_WHAM!_**

A clenched fist collided with her nose and Fake Ruby blinked, blood spurting from both nostrils; however, the blow was not enough to send her careening. And there stood Real Ruby, angry and fuming, shaking her aching, bloody knuckles; but then she was suddenly hopping on the spot on one foot, clutching her reddening hand, doubling over on her front, "Oooowwww! That freaking hurt! FUCK!"

Alucard's smirk only widened considerably in response as he saw Real Ruby hop around in agony. "Ruby, there you are."

Real Ruby whipped her head to him, her eyebrows knitted with fury. "What the hell, Alucard?" She roared angrily, "What. The. HELL?"

While Alucard watched with slight amusement, Fake Ruby's fist clenched. "Bitch. I thought I left you at the hospital!" She screamed at Real Ruby, and she was about to lunge at her but she was apprehended by Alucard squeezing the trigger of the Casull. Real Ruby screamed and squatted down, away from the nozzle of the gun.

Fake Ruby avoided the bullet and landed back on the floor at the edge of the bed on all fours, snarling. Her face began contorting, twisting into a perverted, feral image of her. Elongated fangs portruded from her gaping mouth and a thick, snake-like tongue flicked out. She hissed as she crawled backwards on her haunches as Alucard fired another shot, this time, shooting the foot of Ruby's bed to oblivion. The creature sprang away and Ruby's wardrobe paid the price as Alucard pulled the trigger.

"Ahhh! Make her stop!" Real Ruby cried out as her pillow exploded into a puff of cotton next. He was destroying her furniture! Panicking, she could only huddle in a corner as Alucard continued firing, "Stop! Stop it!"

Fake Ruby made a frantic escape to the living room and Alucard pursued; Real Ruby was too busy mourning over her destroyed room to follow. She would be safer where she was anyway. He followed Fake Ruby and shot off her left leg before she could run to the door. She stumbled to the ground, clutching at her knee, where the missing limb should be, but smirked up at him as he approached her.

She looked up at him and her horrifying features erroded, returning to normal, returning to Ruby's face, and she began giggling, "…Is this what makes you hot?" With a curled fist, he punched her squarely across the face and she fell to the ground. She spat out some blood, still giggling loudly. The blood dripping from the corner of her lips vanished into her skin like ink on tissue. Almost at once, she began moaning piteously when he raised an eyebrow. "Alucard, please don't do this to me. _I'm your mate_."

"You are _not_ my mate."

Her appearance turned venomous immediately. "_I hate you_." She snarled out all of a sudden. The most disturbing thing was that she sounded exactly like Ruby. "You tried to kill me that day, and I broke my ankle. Don't you know? I might become a cripple. I might not be able to walk anymore! I might not be able to complete my nursing degree! I might have to repeat First year again because of you! And you got me kidnapped by that Alexander Anderson. I almost drowned!" Then she threw her head back and laughed, "You'll end up getting me killed, you know. You won't mean it, but you will. Bad people will go after me. They know who I am. They know I'm your mate and they'll use me to get to you. They'll torture me and rape me and kill me and fuck my dead body right in front of you and you'll have no-one to blame but yourself!"

He knew what she was trying to do. Reverse psychology or whatever. "I want a name."

She stopped laughing then. "I'm not saying a word, sweetie."

He shot off her other leg and blood tendrils squirmed out, wriggling like maggots; the wound was trying to repair itself. Blood tears began oozing from the corner of her eyes. "Damn, they weren't kidding when they said you were scary as fuck."

The nozzle was pressed against her temple. "A name. Now."

She remained silent.

He aimed the Casull at her arm and pulled the trigger. Howling in agony, she clutched at the bleeding stump and turned to him, furious. "…Caelum." came her bitter response. "His name is Caelum. But I'm not telling you anymore! Go on! Shoot my other arm off! Shoot me in the head! I won't tell you anything!"

He slid the Casull into her mouth and her eyes widened.

_BAM!_

Alucard watched her head explode and splash onto the furniture and walls, and her body collapsed over the ground in a pool of blood, her fingers still twitching. Then, her body began to liquefy, dissolving into nothing but blood.

* * *

><p>Ruby looked up when she heard a loud gunshot and a scream. Her scream. It was a horrible noise. Panting in short, quirky breaths, Ruby listened, hearing the scream echo around the room before gradually fading away. She shivered all over and swallowed down the lump in her throat. When she deemed it safe, she stepped out of her bedroom and into the lounge; her jaw dropped. It was a mess; blood and guts everywhere. A fluffy collar and a piece of pink, stringy flesh was hung over the corner of her coffee table. The smell was unbearable. She glanced around her tarnished lounge, to see nothing but a pool of blood on the floorboards and an <em>Agent Provocateur<em> nightdress on the floor amongst the mess.

And Alucard was standing with his back to her.

"…You killed her?" Ruby asked.

"I made no promise of letting her go."

Ruby blinked at him in confusion as he turned round. "But she LOOKED like me. You just **killed** someone who looked like _me_. And you destroyed my house."

"I did not 'kill' you, Ruby." He said, as he withdrew his Casull and slipped it into his coat safely. "…If I killed you, then you would not be standing in front of me, utterly bewildered yet unharmed."

"…I don't mean it that way. You killed someone who looked like me, and you didn't even flinch."

Alucard gazed steadily at her. She couldn't look at him in the eye and turned away, back to the gooey mess that had once been Fake Ruby. "What are you trying to say." He replied; it didn't sound like a question at all. No, in fact, she knew that tone all too well. It meant he had no desire to continue on with this conversation anymore.

Ruby's lip wobbled, then she pointed to the red goop on the floor. "I'm not cleaning that up. I'm not cleaning _me_ up." She said.

She was not going to let this go. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her up against him, "She was _not_ you."

However, she merely averted her attention to the bloodstained nightdress. "Urgh, it's all ruined."

"Then I will get you a new one."

"I don't want a new one."

The atmosphere was no doubt atrocious and needed a change. A steely silence hung in the air. The blood all over the floor and on the wall and sofa began to seep under his soles and into him. Was he absorbing the blood? "Give me your hand." He said, but she didn't comply. He reached for her himself but she pulled away from him.

"No!" She wailed, sniffling slightly, "Not when you let her slobber all over you. I mean, you honestly thought she was me?"

"Of course not."

"Then why did you let her crawl all over you and…"

He let out a disgruntled noise and turned away. "I had to determine what she was."

"Well, it looked like you enjoyed it immensely from where I was watching."

Alucard grasped her by the shoulders gently and turned her round to face him, "…Yet, I meant every word I said. No-one will take your place in my heart, Ruby."

She gazed at him with half-lidded eyes. "You know, I think I liked it better when you were hulking all over me and demanding me to kiss you."

He smirked and she felt the frantic urge to wipe it off his unreasonably handsome face. "Is that true?"

"…And if I remember correctly, you don't _have _a heart." She crossed her arms and turned away again, her back to him.

"…Ruby…" His voice lingered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He leaned into her and she stumbled forwards but managed to stand; she turned slightly to see that his eyes were closed, and he was rubbing himself against her.

_He's acting like a cat_, she thought, biting down on her lip. _No! No, I can't forgive him so easily...Not this time…_ "It won't work. I'm angry."

"No, you are jealous."

"_No_, I'm angry. I'm furious. Just... Just let me cool off."

"You should be well aware by now that I desire no other woman but you." He purred in her ear, his arms tightening around her. "I knew you were unpredictable, but assaulting a vampire wasn't what I had in mind."

"You're such a cocky ba – " Ruby was interrupted by Alucard pressing his lips over hers.

She didn't understand. She felt conflicted. She'd seen Alucard brutally kill, impale and maim at the vampire bar and at the hospital, but as a lover, he would treat her with so much care and affection…he'd been so gentle and passionate and he said so many sweet words to her. How was he capable of doing such contradictory things? She admitted she was attracted to him despite all that. It was almost…innate, a dangerous instinct, a dangerous desire. A_ dark_desire. Whenever he kissed her, she always melted in his embrace, wanting more. Was this even…healthy?

He pulled away with a devilish grin, "And what was that uncouth word you were about to call me?" He purred, and she flushed. "For using such language, I'm going to have to punish you."

"Well, I-I'm going to punish you too."

"I look forward to it." He replied, "My '_punishment_'; how exhilarating."

"You sick – " Again, she was apprehended by Alucard claiming her lips with his but she managed to wriggle away. "Don't think you can just kiss me and expect everything to be peachy! I'm still angry as to why you let her do whatever she was doing to you back there in the bedroom - Ohhhhh, I get it now. It was ALL a dream come true, wasn't it? It was a DREAM COME TRUE."

His mood altered in a split second. Suddenly, Alucard's grip on her tightened and she found herself staring into the eyes of a very, very, very irate vampire. His garnet eyes blazing, he uttered darkly at her, "It sickens me that you think of me that way. Dream? You are sorely mistaken. I could take you right here and now. On the bed, on the floor, the bathroom, your sofa, your living room. I'll touch you all night, and you will beg for me to be inside you. I'll make you scream my name out over and over again."

"D-Don't say those t-things!" She snapped wobbly, obviously affected by his words. However, she swallowed down and croaked, "Alright then. Fine. Just_fine_."

He watched as she started to remove the top she'd borrowed from Gwen. She pulled it over her head and then threw it to the ground, her hair all over her face. She tried to remove her trousers, but when the belt got caught, she screamed a colourful curse and left it the way it was, then stormed up to him, stopping directly in front of him mere millimetres away. "If that's what you want, then go on right ahead! Be my guest! I'm sick of it too! I'm sick and tired of this tension between us! So, I'm not going to do anything. I won't do anything. I won't scream, I won't hit you, I won't slap or kick you - Nothing. None of that. Let's just get it over with and – "

She was interrupted by Alucard seizing her arms and she found herself flung over the bed.

Ruby squeaked, as he climbed on top of her and began to unfasten her belt which she had difficulty with. Her jeans were undone in seconds and yanked down to her ankles; he pressed his lips against hers in a deep kiss and she found herself resisting despite everything she had just said, her legs kicking, yet her futile struggle came to an end when he kissed her until she was senseless. He completely descended himself upon her; no hands pinning her wrists or her sides. He simply let himself on top of her and nudged her legs apart with his knees before he lifted her legs to wrap around his waist. Ruby managed to pull away slightly, and his lips found her neck. She swallowed, as each sensual nibble on her nape suddenly made her achy and needy for him. She wiggled under his grip, causing him to groan.

He moved to her lips and kissed her harder. Deeper. She moaned into his mouth, their lips meeting each other urgently and frantically as he moved to hold her possessively in his arms. Passion was blazing within them, lust spiking as their bodies writhed together on the bed. He let his fingers roam underneath her upper thigh as she dug her fingers into his hair, bringing their faces closer. He tried to deduce what had just happened; they were having an argument; she was angry… he got angry…then she began taking off her clothes to prove some kind of point which he could no longer remember…then everything went…gauzy, and now this was happening…

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except this. His hands were excitedly caressing her stomach and circling her waist; she surrendered to his touch just as he reached a hand underneath the front of her bra and ripped the flimsy garment off her. She gasped as her breasts spilled out, her face flushing brilliantly when he reached down, his mouth clamping over one exposed nipple. She inadvertently let out a sheer, helpless moan, watching him suckle and lick hungrily at the bud while his hand groped at her other breast, his fingers squeezing her flesh in torturous motions.

"A-Alucard…" She stammered out, squeezing her eyes shut as she threw her head to the side. Her fingers gripped the mattress sheet underneath tightly as he lapped at her nipple feverishly, his wicked tongue swirling around the stiffening bud before his lips closed around it again, sucking vigorously. She was gasping in seconds, "…Wh-what are you doing…"

Her breath left her throat as he pulled away, to kiss down the middle of her breasts to her stomach, and then he slipped his hands under her panties, which were surprisingly soaked right through the thin material. "You're so wet." He growled, as he rubbed over that particular sensitive spot, making her cry and moan weakly. "Shall I relieve you?"

Another feeble moan escaped her lips when he deliberately thrust against her body; his shaft was bulging in the material of his pants, making its presence known against her inner thigh and she twitched, swallowing down that growing lump in her throat. She managed to grasp that ounce of control that was dying to wither away from the amount of pleasure building inside her, as his fingers hooked onto the sides of her panties and began to pull them down, and Ruby re-opened her eyes, then vigorously shook her head and turned away, clamping her legs together.

"No?" He bit out, "Are you _sure_?"

He spread her legs again, then ground against her wet panties in a teasing motion and her eyes widened. "A-ah! No, don't, I don't…" She left her sentence trailing, as his hungry lips claimed hers once more as he delivered another well-timed thrust that had her spiralling over the edge, forcing her to gasp into his mouth. "Oh god, don't stop – "

"Don't intend to." He grunted, as he rocked his hips once more that she was panting.

She clutched and clawed at his shoulders, her toes curling as he grasped her breasts, his thumb brushing against the hardening tips. Her mind went numb and dizzy and he watched her with delight, watch her twist and squirm uncontrollably while she moaned his name out as he thrust against her on the bed.

"Ahh, no...!" She was wailing helplessly, to his utter delight. His fangs were threatening to extend as his eyes landed on the glistening sweat on her porcelain throat; the desire to bite her, the urge to sink his fangs into her and claim her blood haunted his mind - he attempted to distract himself by focusing on her lips, trying to relish the feel of her fingers raking over his back. He groaned as their lips clashed together continuously; if he lost control now, he might end up ripping out her throat.

He let go of her, fumbling with his slacks, desperate to shove himself inside her with all his strength. He was aching, heavy with a need for release. But then the realisation hit and he groaned; Ruby was still inconveniently _human, a_nd a _virgin_ nonetheless. What a horrible combination. He averted his attention from his pants and yanked her head back, revealing much of her inviting neck to him. Unaware of what he was about to do, she closed her eyes as she felt his cold, quick breaths on her neck; no, she wanted this as much as he did. She was moaning pleadingly as he brushed her hair back, his tongue gliding in teasing, agonising strokes from the middle of her throat all the way up to the side of her face as his other hand worked hard in between her legs. He couldn't hold it back any longer; Alucard buried his face into her neck as his fangs lengthened and –

"No!"

He re-opened his eyes to see that Ruby had now slapped a hand over her neck, blocking him.

"I-I'm not ready for that. Anything but that..."

Alucard drew in a frustrated hiss at her rejection. "Your body tells me otherwise. It must be now." He growled. "I want you, Ruby. You want me too. Don't deny it. You are ready; I can smell your arousal. _You will make a wonderful bride_."

She shook her head furiously but he wasn't having any of it. Alucard swooped down on her again and she tried to push him away as his lips smashed against hers thoroughly, but then he withdrew immediately, a hand to his lip where a tiny dot of his blood began to bubble out.

"You bit me."

Indeed she had. She had bit him, with her little human teeth, and he was bleeding. A human had _bit_ him. Not the other way round. Ruby quickly untangled herself from under him and rolled off the bed; she grabbed her clothes that had been dumped to the floor and quickly began to redress. _Go after her_, his mind screamed at him, but that would mean he would be forcing her; and he was already at his worst, maddened and crazed with lust for her, and he groaned when he grasped the fact that he was on the verge of forcing himself onto her, which he didn't want.

"Ruby." Alucard called after her, but she was already limping out of the room. He grinded his fangs together in fury and belted out a roar of frustration, his fists clenching as he could do nothing but watch his coveted mate flee from him.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

1. OH MAI :O I'm glad I made this a M.

2. Could you tell which parts I just could not bring myself to write? I'm sorry -bows- Ok, so what happened? Basically, a shapeshifting vampire stole Ruby's blood and duplicated herself to look like Ruby then tried to seduce Alucard. The Real Ruby had none of that and punched her.

3. I'm testing the waters with this chapter. I do find writing lime/lemony things kinda uncomfortable/awkward and I've asked friends about their opinions on lemons before and they tell me they laugh and think they're CRINGETASTIC so I'm not confident with how this chapter will turn out.


	22. Ruby's House

Before I begin, I want to thank everyone for the awesome reviews :D

Ok…as RIP Lynn said, to lemon or not to lemon? I did not pick 50/50 or Phone a friend, but Ask the Audience, and you guys said: **Lemon it up**.

The majority has agreed that a lemon would be desired, but… not right now. That's perfectly fine. However, I can't guarantee it will be big phat and juicy, cos it'll still need to be classy. They won't be at it like bunnies, no. I want to apologise to those who do not want a lemon that I have to agree with the majority this time... but if you don't want to read it when I do post it up, that's fine too, and I'll put up warnings prior the chapter. But to let you know, the lemon won't really affect the storyline.

Also, in this chapter, it is about Ruby and it's fast - I need them to make up ASAP and things to go back to the way they were!…which leads me to my second point in which I want to focus on the plot so there is no lime for now.

* * *

><p><em>Ruby's House <em>

**Next day.**

Following yesterday's event, Ruby never returned to her apartment in the evening. On her way out though, she managed to retrieve her bag and crutches and stayed at a cheap hotel to think about her next move. Eventually, she decided it would be indeed wise to move out of her apartment and back home, but she would have to ask permission first. She also hadn't heard from Alucard since. He hadn't looked for her, ie, he hadn't appeared to her impromptu.

Maybe she had gone overboard this time, because she bit him. Maybe she bruised his ego some way or another. She was surprised he didn't raise his voice at her, or _hit _her. Maybe he was sick and tired of chasing her and had settled down with a female vampire, accepting another as his bride. Maybe he didn't need Ruby, maybe didn't want her anymore.

She decided not to think about Alucard anymore for now; and before she returned home, she took the bus to her parent's favourite department store and bought a new briefcase for her father, a new perfume for her mother.

Ruby sniffled somewhat as she hobbled down the path home. It was getting dark when she arrived; Ruby's house was a detached house in a small neighbourhood outside the train station. She remembered the same street she used to cycle up and down from on her bicycle, and the park where she used to play with other children in the neighbourhood, and smiled slightly. Samuel's car was missing, indicating he'd gone to work. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't exactly want to put up with her father at the moment. All she knew was: while she had the time, she would go see her mother after that spontaneous visit the other day. Eventually, she arrived outside her house after the short walk, staring at its décor. It was an old house, painted with eggshell white paint that completely contrasted with their scarlet front door. The house was barricaded by a large brick wall and two black gates in front.

Gazing at the unkempt lawn, she made her way inside and once at the door, she took out her keys and unlocked it, then entered, and shut the door behind her quietly. The house was eerily still; she looked up to the top of the stairs, at the landing. It was dark. The house smelt strange, smelt musky and stale, and somewhat damp. She didn't quite remember the house being like this at all. No, she had always remembered it to be warm and bright.

"Mum, I'm home. Are you in?"

She slipped off her converses and removed her coat, before glancing around the rest of the dark hallway. Even the walls were peeling, the wallpaper old and yellowing. A cracked photoframe of a family portrait was hung on the wall along with a mirror that was also fractured in one corner. Ruby looked at the photo; a 5 year old Ruby was grinning with two missing front teeth, squashed in between Dahlia and Samuel. Both parents were also smiling widely.

The door to the living room suddenly opened and there was Dahlia in the doorway, with the two handles of a medium-depth stew pot in clenched oven-mitted hands. "Ruby! I thought I heard you; How nice of you to visit. Come in, come in. Where's Mr Brenner?"

"…he's busy."

"Aww, sweetheart. I'm so glad you're here; there's been a weather forecast of an awful storm approaching and I was worried about you staying in the apartment by yourself. Ooh, what's that you got there?"

"Presents, for you and dad."

Dahlia blinked wide-eyed, as Ruby lifted up the department store bags. "Darling, you didn't have to get us things."

"…Mum, I was actually wondering if I could move back…"

"Move back? Of course you can move back!" She put down the pot onto the floor and threw her arms around Ruby, hugging her tightly. "Of course you can come home, dear. We were so worried when you moved out; we wanted you to come back every day. Hurry and pack your bags and suitcase and bring them here."

"…What about dad? Will he be okay?"

"Dad? Oh, sweetheart, daddy's fine. He'll be fine. He's just not sure how to apologise to you. He's silly like that. You don't hate your father, do you?"

"No, of course not." She replied, "…Can I check my room?"

"Sure - but I got a surprise for you. Look who's here!" And Dahlia opened the door to a larger extent to reveal a familiar figure sitting down on the armchair across the TV.

Ruby froze as the woman sat up, and smiled, and Ruby remembered the many times she'd seen that gentle smile. Her jaw dropped in shock. This woman, she had brown hair flecked with a few greying streaks; wrinkles littered the corners of her withered, kind old eyes, but even after all those years, she still looked the same. And she said, "Hello, Ruby. It's been a long time."

Ruby couldn't believe her eyes. "…Mary?"

Dahlia giggled, "It's been such a long time! Mary, why don't you stay over for dinner?" She picked up the stew pot and strode over to the woman in the lounge.

"I'm sorry, Dahlia, I was actually about to leave."

"Leave?" Ruby found herself saying before Dahlia could protest, "But I just got here."

"Oh, Ruby." The woman held out her arms; Ruby sauntered over obligingly and was embraced her tightly. Ruby felt slightly nervous. It had been so long. Maybe too long; she had no idea what to say to her carer. "I'm so sorry, but I have to leave; the daycare's short on people. But I'm glad I saw you. Look at you; you're all grown up."

"…You really can't stay?"

Mary shook her head sadly. "Not today. I'll come over sometime next week. We'll catch up then."

Ruby nodded. "O-Okay."

The woman moved to the landing to put on her shoes, and Dahlia opened the door for her while Ruby glanced away a little dejectedly. She had not seen Mary, a woman she thought as an extremely close relative although they were not even related to each other at all, for so long and now that she had, she was leaving? "It was good to see you, Ruby." Then she excused herself and left without further ado.

"That was too bad." Dahlia muttered as she locked the door, before she noticed how silent Ruby had grown. "Ruby, darling, it's alright. Mary will visit us again."

Ruby smiled weakly as her mother returned to the kitchen. "…I'm going to check upstairs now." She said; however, a quick brown flash flew into the house through the square flap on the front door and flitted in between her legs, rushing towards the direction of the kitchen. Ruby blinked; it was her cat. She quickly limped into the kitchen where Dahlia was now returning to her cooking; Ruby caught a glimpse of her cat padding down towards the basement and hesitated whether to follow it or not.

Dahlia turned to her, having sensed her presence. "Ruby, what are you doing?"

"Casper went down to the basement. Can I go get him?"

Her mother blinked at her, then moved to step in front of the basement, smiling dryly. "Dear, you've broken your poor foot."

"…Yes, but I can manage. I can go down the stairs."

The smile disappeared from Dahlia's face immediately. "Ruby, you know you're not allowed down there. If dad finds out, he'll be angry. Don't do this to me, dear. I'll get Casper for you. Be a good sport and go back to the lounge to wait. Go on."

She nodded, left the kitchen and went to the lounge to wait as instructed. She sat down on her favourite couch, then heard the kitchen lock go off. She didn't think much of it, and found herself switching on the TV, staring at the flickering screen. A few minutes later, Dahlia re-emerged from the kitchen with Casper and Ruby stood back up to pick up a fat and fluffy, brown blobby thing off Dahlia and into her arms. "…Thanks, mum."

Dahlia smiled at her, returned to the kitchen and Ruby hugged Casper a little tighter to herself. The cat did nothing except blink slowly and close its eyes. With her cat in her arms, she hobbled up the stairs and into her room. Ruby stared at the closed door, then slowly opened it and stepped in. She switched on the light, then glanced around, staring at her furniture which were covered by white sheets to keep dust off.

She hadn't been back for some time. Most of her belongings were left in boxes scattered on the floor; however, she could see that Dahlia, and perhaps Mary, had left her room intact with some new additions - an array of children's crayon drawings were pinned up on all four walls of the room. A crayon height chart was visible in the corner, along with a few, smeared crimson-red handprints. It looked like blood.

She turned away immediately. Maybe it was because she'd been around Alucard too much she'd begun seeing things in a different light.

Two Barbie dolls in princess dresses coated in dust smiled crookedly at her as they sat on the windowsill, half-fallen off their pink, plastic chairs with black marks smeared across their faces. She didn't know where the black marks came from, but when she looked up at the top of her window near the curtain rail, she noticed a large amount of rot had built up and some strange ooze was leaking out, dripping onto the sill below. So much for double glazing, she thought.

"Eurgh…" Ruby clutched Casper securely, stepped forwards and gasped when her foot landed on something hard; she glanced down to see a baby doll's head with its eyes missing. Inside the small depth of the empty sockets, she could see the tell-tale wiggle of a maggot resting inside.

Inwardly, she swallowed down. Her room felt unfamiliar to her. In fact, the entire house felt unfamiliar; it had deteriorated; the floorboards and carpet and walls displaying signs of decay.

Hadn't her parents been cleaning and attending to the house regularly? Oh…right, they were doctors… they hardly lived in the house. This was probably normal since she'd moved out, although… she didn't move out for a long time, only for six or seven months. Yet how could the house have changed so much? Ruby wondered why her mother had kept her things so neat and tidy and in pristine condition, even after she had left to live at the hospital. Despite this, she missed her family, her house, her room. She missed her belongings.

She put Casper down, kicked away the baby dollhead with the maggots nesting inside into a nearby binbag and then delved into the first box that contained her belongings and found an old box of crayons; she sighed and looked around herself, then began rifling through more boxes up until Casper slinked over and knocked over a steel box, which clattered loudly over the floorboards.

"Casper!" She reprimanded the cat, as she reached over to scoop the box back up. It was locked. She gave it a shake and heard something shift inside; Ruby pursed her lips in thought as she wondered where the key might be. "I remember now…" Ruby scrabbled over to a rickety floorboard under her bed then eased it open with two thumps of her clenched fist.

It was her secret hiding place.

Along with her favourite childhood toys inside the secret compartment under the floorboards, she found a rusted key. She took it out and wiped the dust off it, then unlocked the steel box, lifted the lid and took out the contents.

"…More crayon drawings..." Ruby mumbled to herself. _As if the crayon drawings pinned on my walls aren't enough, I have more in here._ She went through each and every one of them, childhood memories flooding into her; but then she found a manila folder she hadn't seen before.

The label said: **DON'T SHOW TO MUM AND DAD** **-Mary**

A folder left behind by Mary? Ruby squinted her eyes and then tried to remember exactly what this folder was and what Mary may have placed inside. As much as she tried to, she could not. Shrugging, she opened the folder curiously and brought out more crayon drawings – there was one that said 'Mary and Me', then there was a family picture of stick figures holding hands, named accordingly as _Dad_, then _Mum_, then _Me_, and finally…

…there was a nameless, stick figure drawn in black crayon, with two red beady eyes.

_Red eyes…?_

She closed her eyes and tried to remember. Oh yes, Red Eyes from her dreams… Why would she draw a crayon drawing of it? And why…

…_why did I draw it with my family? _

Ruby placed it down and turned to the next drawing. It was a drawing of a house on fire. She thought it was her house (although she didn't know why she would draw her house on fire) until she saw a poorly-drawn swing set and large tree beside the house. She never had a swing before when she was younger. Unable to remember exactly what it was which Mary didn't want Ruby to show her parents when she was younger, Ruby shook her head at herself with a sigh.

_I'm sure they don't mean anything…_

Then the door to her room squeaked open and Dahlia stepped in with a steaming bowl and spoon sitting on a tray. "Ruby, I brought you some soup – " She paused when she saw Ruby surrounded by her childhood crayon drawings on the floor and crayons, "…What are you doing?"

Ruby glanced down to the crayons and her drawings, then smiled awkwardly in return, "Just sorting through some of my old stuff."

"Oh! More crayon drawings! I didn't know you had drawn more…If I knew I would've put them up on the wall."

But she didn't remember drawing them and she didn't know what they meant, and Mary had locked them away. Ruby shrugged as she quickly hid Mary's note by scrunching it up and shoving it into her pocket. "It was with the…er…school stuff."

"That's weird, I'm sure I went through that box and couldn't find drawings…" Dahlia tilted her head to the side as Ruby quickly hid away the family drawing by crumpling it into a tight ball. Dahlia smiled at her daughter but caught sight of the crayon drawing of the house. She picked it up before Ruby could reach for it. "Ruby? What's that? What is this?"

"Oh…I…I don't know."

"When did you draw this?" Dahlia was scrutinising it intensely, her smile had vanished immediately; Ruby had never seen her mother so worked up before. "When did you draw this? Where did you see this house?" She demanded, but Ruby blinked blankly. Dahlia tried again, "Where exactly did you see this house, Ruby?"

"I-I can't remember. Mum, is something wrong? What's wrong? Tell me."

"…What? Oh…n-nothing… everything's fine. Nothing's wrong…It's a pretty house, dear." Without another word, she turned away, still with crayon drawing in hand. Before she left her room, she smiled at Ruby, who was watching her, stunned. "Ruby, I…your father and I, we love you. _We love you so much_."

Then she hurried down the stairs and into the lounge with the crayon drawing in hand.

She made sure Ruby was not following her, and quickly dashed into the kitchen, locked it again, then flung open the door to the basement. As soon as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she locked the basement door behind her, switched the light on and stormed up to the desk quickly. Placing Ruby's crayon drawing on the desk surface, she matched the house she had drawn to a photograph of a house that was clipped onto the whiteboard that was firmly attached to the wall. Her breath shortened when she realised Ruby had drawn the exact thing – even the swing set in the garden.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Dahlia lifted the phone up, then pressed on the speed dial button. She waited patiently, and finally, the phone on the other end picked up. "You told me to call you if anything happened." Dahlia said.

"_What's happened?_"

"She remembers the house."

"_That's impossible_."

"It's just a crayon drawing, but she's drawn the tree…the swing…the fire. She's starting to remember. Or…she already remembers. I don't know. She wouldn't tell me. How could she remember? What do I do?"

"_Don't worry, just act like nothing's happened. Be natural. Do the best you can, and I'll take care of it, alright?_"

"A-Alright." Dahlia stuttered, "What will you do?"

"…_Well, I'll need to talk to her, won't I?"_

**Later.**

"What is this?"

Ruby sat opposite her father in the chair with her eyes trained on her lap. On the coffee table's surface, was a box wrapped up in dark blue paper with a silver bow fastened on top.

"I asked you _what is this_?" Samuel said, crossing his arms as Dahlia put down her cup of tea and began tugging his hand in a reproving manner. "What's the matter? Why aren't you saying anything? Cat got your tongue?"

Her father had always scared her. Her mum said they used to get on well, but Ruby didn't remember, couldn't remember. Her dad had always been hostile and aggressive towards her throughout her childhood and teenage years. She thought… maybe she shamed him, because she was their daughter…and they were doctors, but she didn't act like how a daughter of doctors should. She had no idea how… she thought she was normal, playing with other neighbourhood kids, getting mediocre but satisfactory grades in class...Whenever something happened in school, such as if she got good grades in class, she showed it to him first thing, smiling and grinning with her arms out, the report or test paper in her hands, but…then she'd remembered her father would just sit behind his desk in his study chair, and stare at her. Maybe give her a quiet nod. One time she remembered she received a handshake. Eventually, she ended up confiding with Mary or her mother.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Dahlia laughed awkwardly. "Dear, it's a gift from Ruby."

"No, Dahlia, don't speak for her. She's perfectly capable of talking herself."

"It's a gift." Ruby eventually croaked out.

"I don't want it."

Dahlia forced a small smile when Ruby fell silent. "Sam, Ruby knows you've been working so much and your briefcase's got this horrid tear in the corner, so she deliberately went to that store you like and got you a new one."

But Samuel ignored her. "You suddenly come here unannounced declaring that you want to move back, and now you present me with this. What are you trying to do?"

Ruby glanced up meekly, "Dad, I…"

"Trying to win favour with me?" He barked, before he lifted the box off the table and frowned at it; then he dumped it to the ground with a sweep of the back of his hand, and Dahlia and Ruby stared wide-eyed at the box that had crumpled to the floor. "I don't want it. You think buying me a present will make me forgive what you have done? You can use that trick on your mother, but not with me. Take it and go away. Go back to the apartment. I don't want you under the same roof as me."

Ruby turned to him with her mouth falling open in shock.

Samuel continued. "You turned your back on your family. Don't you come running back to us with your tail between your legs. How much do you need? Why didn't you ask that man you were with for money?"

She shook her head furiously. "That's not - "

"If it is not because you've run out of money, then why are you here?"

"Samuel! Quit it!" Dahlia shrieked at him, "_What is with you_?"

Ruby watched their argument in silence, her bottom lip going taut, contorting into a small, visible frown.

"What's with that attitude?" Samuel barked at her once he saw her expression, "I don't like that look in your eyes. Feeling angry and bitter that I don't accept your gift?"

She shrunk away from him in response.

"Even though we allowed you to leave and start that silly nursing degree of yours, you're still a disgrace; you disgust me. We got a phonecall from the hospital the other day, about your broken foot. They said you might have to repeat First year over again. This is how you repay us? Don't forget that we paid for your tuition fees and accommodation. You've wasted our time and money."

"Sam, it's not Ruby's fault she hurt herself!"

"Why not? She's twenty years old. She's grown up, she's not a child anymore. You would think she'd be more responsible but all I see is a useless - "

"Stop it! Oh, just _stop it_!" Dahlia screamed, before she got up from her seat and ran up the stairs, bursting into tears.

"Mum!" Ruby cried, standing up immediately.

"Oh no you don't - You don't belong here anymore!" Samuel shouted, stepping in front of her to prevent her from following her mother. "Here, take this money and go away!" He took out his wallet and chucked a few paper bills at her; she stared in horror, watching the money flutter around her onto the floor.

And a few moments later, Ruby found herself standing outside the gates of her house, crying.

Everything had been a blur.

It was then she remembered the same thing happened to her one day when she was younger: She accidentally spilled her juice over her father's documents one day while playing in his study and he yelled at her, threatening to throw her out to the streets, and he dragged her out the house and locked her outside the gates. She stood there, begging to be let back in. When nothing happened, she cried for a few hours or so not knowing where to go or what to do, until a neighbour came out of their house. Even then she lied and said she locked herself out of the house and nobody was in. She only went back home when her mother came back from work.

There she was, sniffling and wailing while hugging her cat. The wind was strong and the sky was darkening; she shivered, having been kicked out of the house with no jacket or umbrella. She glanced around, but she didn't want to wait for a neighbour or somebody else to see her like this.

_But where do I go? I don't have anywhere to go._

That wasn't true; she could go and seek out Gwen…but she didn't want to tell Gwen what had happened. The girl would keep asking and asking and asking and if she refused to tell, Gwen might take it the wrong way and get angry instead, since Gwen's mechanics didn't always make sense to Ruby; the girl could be helpful yet deplorable at the same time. She was that kind of person.

_Or… I could go back to the apartment…_

But what if Alucard was waiting for her there? Now that this had happened, she wasn't sure how to face him properly, or if she even had the strength to.

She glanced at Alucard's fang in her other hand; she was clutching it so hard her knuckles were turning white. as she gazed at the fang for longer, her expression softened and she ceased her sniffles and snivels. Before long, she cradled the fang tightly to herself. It brought a sense of security to her.

However, she was disrupted when something landed on her head and she looked up at the grey sky, rubbing at the crown of her head. It was water. She groaned when it began to rain heavily and automatically, Casper scrabbled out of her hold. Once he landed back on the ground, he hurriedly dashed away, and she whimpered, watching her cat scurry off and disappear into a thick bush opposite.

She was alone.

Ruby clamped her hands over her head, as the rain began to grow fiercer and fiercer. The storm! Of course; her mother had warned her about it earlier on... How worse could this day get? She'd gotten kicked out of the house and now it was raining too. She turned back to the gates, staring at the house in between the gaps of the metal bars longingly, but nothing happened. Turning back round, she scowled at herself for wishing, or hoping, to be let back in. Ruby glanced around again, unsure what to do, then slowly lowered herself to squat on the ground with her arms on her knees, sobbing into her sleeves.

A few minutes later, she felt something plop onto her head and stopped weeping for a moment.

There was a hat on her.  
>A red hat, with a wide, floppy brim.<p>

Hats didn't come from nowhere; she looked up, and a familiar figure stepped directly in front of her.

_Alucard…?_

At first, she tried to run. She simply did not know how to deal with him at this precise moment. A barrel of conflicting emotions was waging a war inside her and she also didn't want him to see her reduced to this. It was also then that she remembered precisely what had happened in the apartment, and she blushed furiously. _Why is he even here in the first place? _She couldn't help but ponder. Why had he given her his hat? Perhaps he had considered she may require it more than he might since humans were so vulnerable to wetness and the cold. However, before she even had a chance to limp away, he grabbed her and she found herself in his arms, held in his secure embrace.

"Do not run from me, my bride." He snarled viciously; she whimpered as the hat lopped off her head and onto the cold, wet ground. Now they were both standing under the rain, getting soaked.

"L-Let go."

"No." He asserted, his lips were by her ear and his voice was husky and suave that her legs went weak in seconds. Goddamnit, how could he have this kind of effect on her?

"Let go, Alucard, please." Her voice was almost drowned out by the rain. She squeezed her eyes shut, thoroughly embarrassed that he had to witness her like this, kicked out of her own home and her eyes red and blotchy, evidence of a prolonged session of profound sobbing.

"You dislike me that much that you attempt to escape from my mere presence?" He barked, "You reject me even now?"

"…N-No…it's just - "

She was cut off when he slammed his lips against hers in a fierce kiss. When she struggled, he kissed her harder. Rougher. Deeper. Hungrier. Eventually, Ruby surrendered to him with a moan; their lips were pressing against each other so tightly, he backed her against the wall of her house, but she pulled away and shook her head. "Don't, Alucard…don't make this so hard for me…"

With that, he kissed her with more vigour; he did not even care if she needed air. "Do not even attempt to bite me again, little one. I do not forgive one so easily." He growled when he broke apart for a few seconds. It was despicable; he waited centuries for his mate only to be rejected? What kind of fool did she take him for? It infuriated him to no end that she still did not exactly understand just how important she was to him. He kissed her ardently, with all the anger swelling inside him and his hands clenched securely around her waist, crushing her against him. She whimpered helplessly under his grip, trying to wriggle free but he refused to let go of her.

Hell, he refused her _refusing him_.

He smashed his lips over hers again and again, claiming her mouth relentlessly, and her mind reeled; her feelings for Alucard were too strong now. This was past the point of no return. She'd been stubborn, determined not to fall for him but now this had happened and she was facing the consequences; he'd reduced her to a quivering wreck just by kissing her. Deep within, she was burning inside, with no sense of relief.

When she began kissing him back, his grip loosened, and she placed her hands on the sides of his face to bring their faces even closer. She almost forgot it was raining, and that they were completely drenched from head to toe. He gave a pleased growl at her submission and lessened the strength he'd used to pin her against the wall, applying light kisses over her jaw and the side of her face.

Freed from his mouth, she was left a panting and gasping wreck, "This isn't getting us anywhere."

He stopped kissing her and brushed wet strands of her hair away from her face; his tone went softer, too. "…I did not come here to argue; there is something I have to tell you, Ruby."

If he began talking about what happened back at the apartment, she would wish the ground would swallow her up, but then -

"I love you."

Her eyes went wide, her jaw hanging slack as she tensed up on the spot. She wasn't expecting that. She blinked at him before her cheeks went a darker shade of red to match his coat. "…W-what…"

"I love you, Ruby," Alucard repeated sternly. "I will not deny that I want to make love to you, and I want you to be mine, to become my woman, my bride, my mate. You are my bride, my No-Life Queen, and I am your No-Life King. I should not have forced myself on you. What I did was inexcusable."

Her mouth moved, but no words came out. Suddenly, he enveloped his arms around her, and began to bury his face into her neck. "…Alucard?" He didn't respond, except rub his cheek against her nape affectionately.

_He's trying to apologise_, she thought, as she glanced to the side, still bundled up tightly in his arms. The truth was she wasn't angry at him anymore. She never really was. Maybe when they first met, she would be furious if he'd pull a stunt like that back in the bedroom and she would never want to speak to him ever again, but now they'd been in each other's presences, she'd gotten comfortable and used to the vampire. Nothing he did remotely infuriated her and she could never bring herself to _hate _him.

"I am willing to wait five…ten…or twenty years for your answer." He muttered, "…I can wait."

"T-twenty years? I'll be forty years old."

"Then when will I receive a definite answer?"

"…I think I should speak to Sir Integra or Mr Morris first."

"Of course. Come with me, to Hellsing." He added, before he reached for her hand. "…If you have forgiven me, that is."

She turned to the gates behind her, and back to Alucard. Finally, Ruby cast her gaze to the side, in obvious mental debate, and he believed she would decline, but then, she nodded. "Yes." She said, "I forgive you."

A smirk appeared on his face, "That is what I have come to adore about you: you are so gentle and kind; indisputably, a rare specimen amongst humans." He said, which made her cringe somewhat, "Now… surely you have no place to call home anymore. It is peculiar you allow these people to treat you as such."

"They're my parents." Ruby replied miserably, as he took her hand and began to lead her down the street. She let out a dejected sigh as she threw her gaze over her shoulder, staring at the gates.

"What happened."

"My dad and I had an argument, then he told me to get out."

"And you listened?"

"…Yes." She squeaked, knowing how ridiculous it sounded. If her father told her to go jump off a bridge, would she find herself doing so as requested? Possibly, yes. "It-It's okay, honestly, Alucard. My dad and I are...we're going to be fine. It's just...I...you know, I made him angry, so...I deserve this."

"No, that is not true."

When she mustered a small smile at him in response, he pulled her into his arms again and held her firmly. To his surprise, Ruby returned his embrace and clutched him tightly in response; she was overjoyed Alucard had not abandoned her despite all the windows of opportunities for him where he could have given up on her. Her parents could…her father could, but not Alucard…anyone but him…

...For at the precise moment, she believed Alucard was the only one who truly mattered to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Oracle Corporation.<strong>

"Who were you talking to on the phone, sir?"

Caelum put down the phone as Ermen entered his room with a clipboard in hand. The president replied, with a smile, "Just an old associate of mine. I didn't think she'd call, actually, but there seems to be a slight problem. Let's go, Ermen, there's somebody I need to talk to."

"But, sir, the tournament's starting tomorrow. You are needed here."

"Yes, yes, but there's still one more participant out there." He said, "Trust me, Ermen, I know what I am doing."


	23. A Series of Seemingly Unrelated Events

_A Series of Seemingly Unrelated Events_

"I said…WHERE IS SHE?"

Dahlia and Samuel remained silent.

Caelum was pacing the living room floor, before he stormed up to Samuel with his clenched fist raised; he cuffed the side of his head and Samuel crumpled to the ground from the impact, just in time for Caelum to deliver a hefty kick to the chest. He cried out, and curled into a ball, cradling his newly broken ribs. Dahlia screamed as she helplessly watched her husband concede to Caelum's relentless attacks.

The dark haired vampire then grabbed Samuel by the front of his shirt that they went eye-to-eye, "You disappoint me, Samuel." He hissed, "I entrusted you and your wife with one simple task…one tiny, simple task, and that is to look after that wretched No-Life King's mate…to look after her, feed and clothe her…treat her like your own until _he_ would find her… and you kicked her out…Now she is gone. Have you ANY idea what you have just done?"

Samuel slowly gathered himself up, spitting a wad of blood to the side. "…I refuse to be a part of this anymore."

"Refuse?" Caelum snarled, before kicked him in the stomach again; Samuel returned to the floor, rolling in agony. "You weren't like this eighteen years ago. Since you don't want to be part of this anymore, I'll just have to kill you_._"

"NO!" Dahlia screamed as she pulled free from Luther's grip and ran to her husband, throwing herself over him. "Mr Caelum, please! Samuel, he-he's just…he's not thinking properly…"

there was a prolonged silence until Caelum slid his gaze to Luther. "...Get that piece of shit out of here. I'll deal with him properly later."

The albino nodded and promptly grabbed Samuel in Caelum's place; the man resisted thoroughly against as Ermen held back a sobbing and weeping Dahlia. Samuel said, "Dahlia…why did you tell them?"

"She knows, Sam…She knows." She whimpered, as the president watched Luther lead Samuel out before he turned to Dahlia next. She went down on her knees and grasped at his sleeve, muttering hysterically, "P-P-Please don't kill my husband, Mr Caelum. I'll-I'll do anything you say, oh please, don't kill him."

"...Fine."

"Thank you, Caelum. Thank you so much..."

"That's what I like about you, Dahlia. You're not like Samuel, who's always suspicious and wary and so annoyingly defiant; you're surprisingly very obedient, and you obviously don't think much, do you?" He replied, with a smile. A few seconds later, and the smile vanished, replaced with a dark frown. "But now…you're just as guiltyas he is. Pick up the goddamned phone and call that runaway of yours to come home right this instant."

"…What if she comes back with Alucard?"

"Even if he comes, I'll kill him; I'm not afraid of him. Now get to it, Dahlia."

Swallowing, Dahlia nodded and hastily rushed over to the phone atop the cupboard and picked it up, dialling Ruby's mobile number. _Ruby…I'm so sorry it has come to this. It's not our fault…we were forced to do this…Please understand, and please…please don't pick up the phone…_

* * *

><p>At Hellsing manor, Morris met up with Integra in the corridor outside her main office. She was walking towards him from the opposite direction, carrying three boxes with her, which Morris took from her arms.<p>

"Thank you."

"These are really heavy! You carried them all the way here from the archives?"

"Yes." She unlocked the door, and opened it for Morris, who carried in the large cardboard boxes that were now stacked vertically in his arms.

"What have you been doing?"

"Now that we have a name, I was looking for more information about the Knights." Together, they made their way to the desk where Integra scooped one stacked-up box from Morris, and placed it on her desk, before she reached for the other. "My father hid these files well." The Director moved to stand behind the desk with Morris facing her. She wiped the dust off the lid of one box with a cloth beside her, then opened it carefully.

"_'Closed Cases'_?" Morris questioned as he glanced at the label on the side of the box.

"Yes, but obviously the Knights are not a closed case: Caelum - I assume - is reviving the Knights and taking over using their name, or my father has missed a spot. He discovered the Black Flame Knight sect via a distress call." Integra said; Morris began to help her go through the piles and piles of folders and papers. She fished out a random folder, and opened it, then pulled out a file. "There. It says here, on March 11th 1950, a distress call came from a village called** Bal'allan**. The call was made by a man named Anthony Rosenthal, and his fiancée, Emilia. The exact recording of the phonecall is also listed here: apparently, villagers were going missing until a vampire was spotted one night during patrol."

Integra rifled through more documents and finally located the victim profiling sheet squashed in between a hand-drawn, birds-eye view map of the entire village. Morris picked it up, inspecting it carefully. There was one location on the map that piqued his curiosity. The 'shrine'. _A shrine for what?_

"Let's see..." Integra scanned the profiling sheet carefully. "Anthony Rosenthal was a doctor; he had his own clinic, and assisted front-line infantry soldiers during the Second World War. He moved all the way from Bal'allan with his fiancée to England following the phonecall; to start anew, I suppose."

Morris picked up a random document. "It says here that the Rosenthal's are divorced now; Mr Rosenthal and the Mrs passed away about ten years ago."

Integra frowned slightly. There goes one potential lead. "What about their children?"

"They had two. One of them is missing."

"Missing?"

"Their youngest child, Mary. She went missing when she was five months old."

"When was this?"

"Roughly thirty to forty years ago. The child was never found."

"I'll ask if the Commissioner can give me anymore details." Integra said as she went to the other boxes of 'Cold Case' files Morris had beside him. "But it is also best to look through these. We might find more interesting things in here."

A few minutes later of searching and Morris found a thin folder, then pulled out the paperclip and settled it on Integra's desk. He opened it and flipped to a random file and lifted it out. "Hm, I found a similar case – a devastating fire killed a young couple named **Van der Linde **in their own home in Southampton, but it was suspected to be a murder case because no smoke was found inhaled in their lungs, which means they were killed beforehand. Also, the body of their two year old daughter, Leanne, was never recovered. Do you think it may be related?"

"Maybe. For now, I shall pay the Rosenthal's eldest daughter a visit."

"Okay; while you do that, I'll head to Bal'allan. See if anyone there can help us." Morris said, still with the map in hand.

"Wait - Morris, I'll tell Alucard and Seras to go; I have a contact who can assist them there. For now, I would like you to escort Miss Ashcroft to the manor." Integra said, "I wouldn't want her to go alone."

Morris nodded in agreement, "Sure, I'll go pick her up."

**Meanwhile.**

"...Yes, master. I will leave immediately." Alucard hung up on the phone following the end of the conversation without further ado and turned to Ruby, who was waiting for the car that would take her to Hellsing. They'd returned to the apartment to pack.

"Who was that?" She asked, as a familiar black car pulled up at the pavement, "Sir Integra?"

"Yes."

"Oh…a mission, right?" Her expression fell slightly, "So, you won't be escorting me back?"

"Stay in the car; the chauffeur will take you directly to the manor." He murmured, before he kissed her forehead. "_Do not leave the car_."

She nodded and smiled widely. "Okay."

The door to the driver's seat opened and out popped Morris free of his usual labcoat attire or the suede suit. Instead, he'd opted for a casual white t-shirt and dark, low-waisted denims. A black sweatband with a skull and crossbone pattern on it was wrapped around his forehead, his blonde hair poking out in all sorts of directions. "Hey." Morris greeted them, and before long, the passenger door opened and another familiar face emerged from the car.

"Mr Morris?" Ruby blinked as the vampire hunter unlocked the boot of the car and grabbed her suitcase, before lifting it inside the trunk, "…Joshua?"

"We came to get you." Joshua announced with a broad grin, stopping shortly in front of the girl. He seemed different compared to the last time Ruby saw him…he was really depressed…Now he was practically glowing…a totally different person…

"Awesome!" Ruby exclaimed, and she ruffled his hair with her palm while Alucard wrapped his arms around her possessively as soon as Morris walked over.

The vampire hunter didn't seem to have realised the ominous glare Alucard was subjecting him to. "C'mon. Let's go, we're on a strict schedule. Integra expects us by evening."

She glanced up at Alucard expectantly; he leaned over and kissed her cheek before letting go of her, then averted his gaze to Morris. In response, Morris gave Alucard an acknowledging nod. They watched Alucard drift away subsequently and then turned to the awaiting car; Morris locked the trunk while Joshua opened the door for her. She thanked him, and plopped herself into the passenger seat of the car before Joshua clambered in himself.

Morris slid into driver's seat and yanked the seatbelt towards the clip. "Buckle up everyone, it's a long ride to Hellsing." He said, and Ruby and Joshua did as they were told.

The car pulled out of the driveway and onto the main road. They conversed amiably (mostly about vampires) for a few minutes or so until Ruby's mobile began ringing and she pulled it out from her pocket and stared at the lit-up screen. 'Home', it said. Her mother was calling her? She flipped it open meekly and pressed it against her ear.

"Mum?"

"…_Ruby. Oh, Ruby, please… please come home, dear, quickly…"_

"What's wrong, mum? What's happened?"

"_Please, Ruby, come back home right now. Something terrible has happened. Your father, he…well, he_…_Just come home, darling, hurry_ – "

Then the phone went dead. Now what? She was on her way to Hellsing… but now it seemed something had happened back home and she was needed… And Alucard told her not to leave the car…_Well, going home shouldn't hurt_, she thought_._ Anyway...She _should_ go back home to tell her mother that she wouldn't be expected back home any time soon.

"...Mr Morris…" Ruby found herself saying, "...is it okay if you make a quick detour to my house?"

* * *

><p>"Sir Integra Hellsing?"<p>

Integra glanced up from her laptop to see a woman standing in front of her. The woman was old, perhaps in her mid-fifties. Integra immediately lowered the laptop screen and replied, "Are you Madison Rosenthal?"

The old woman nodded. "Yes."

"Please, have a seat, Ms Rosenthal. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. Would you like a drink?"

"No, thank you." replied the old woman, as she sat down on the spare seat opposite Integra and smiled. "What a lovely place this is."

She was talking about the art gallery's cafe. It was not restricted to meetings with Enrico Maxwell; Integra often met up here with Hellsing clients or any other associate in general. "I would like to ask you about your little sister." Integra said, taking a sip from her espresso.

Madison hesitated, then nodded; she brought out her purse from her bag and placed it on the surface of their table, then took out a photograph from inside and handed it to Integra. "This is the only picture we have of her."

Integra scrutinised the picture, her eyes narrowing acutely. The photograph contained Jack Rosenthal, Emilia Rosenthal, a young Madison, and a baby in Emilia's arms. No doubt, the baby was the missing little sister. "What happened?"

"It happened a long time ago; I was young. A man came and took Mary away. I didn't know who he was." Madison replied, "My father was in hospital, and my mother was downstairs. I was sleeping, but I woke up because I heard her talking to someone. I went down, and I saw her crying and there was a gentleman standing in front of her."

"What did this man look like?"

The old woman tried to concentrate. "…Hmm, I don't remember much… but there was something odd about him. He was so young, much younger than my mother… He was very pale…he had black hair and…and I remember he had these horrible, _horrible_ red eyes. He was holding Mary, and…"

"He took her away?"

Madison nodded meekly. "He walked past me out of the front door. ...I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologising?"

"My sister _was_ stolen from my family...but it's been so long. I fear I...do not have anymore tears to shed." Madison replied morosely, "I never knew her; it's as if she never existed."

"You've never seen your little sister again?"

The woman shook her head. "My mother didn't want to report it. She said Mary was his child, that he came to get what belonged to him...and we were better off this way. What a horrible thing to say, yes? But...I believe it was my mother's way of coping with the loss."

* * *

><p>Whilst Integra was meeting up with Emilia's daughter, Alucard and Seras took a helicopter up north, and they were dropped off at the pier to make the rest of the journey by foot. They met Integra's local contact whilst at the harbour - a man with blue eyes, messy brown hair and briefcase in hand.<p>

"Jack Seward," He introduced himself, "I am one of the descendants of John Seward. It's nice to meet you."

How cliché, Alucard thought. all of the descendants of the men who defeated him so many years ago have all stuck to the same profession. Morris was a vampire hunter, and now Seward was a doctor of some sort. Police Girl shook hands with him politely and said, "What are you doing here, Dr Seward_?_" as the trio began to make their way towards their rented van.

"Bal'allan is a village with a history of high vampiric activity, and human sacrifices." He replied, "I'm here to conduct some research and assist you."

Whilst Alucard wondered precisely how Seward would assist them, they began their journey; the group hitched a ride to the village from a farmer who was making delivery rounds to a village close to Bal'allan. Compared to Morris, Seward was a far quieter individual with a grace of an upper-class man. By the time they arrived, the farmer had driven off the main road and onto a lonely path. Seras was snoozing and Alucard was leisurely tampering with the Casull, occasionally giving fleeting glances to the sleeping police girl.

Alucard averted his gaze; the sky was darkening… it was a black, dusky hue with a spray of gleaming stars and the luscious curve of the moon poking out, hidden beneath thick, invisible clouds. It was a beautiful night. He remembered watching the moon from that window in his tower of his castle. He remembered how verdant and full it was, and since he'd arrived at Britain, he hadn't seen the moon like that for a long time. He was brought of his thoughts when their driver steered to the right.

"Alright, this is the last stop. I'm afraid you city folk will have to walk the rest of the way." The farmer said, as he stopped his van.

Alucard, Seras and Seward left the vehicle, and the farmer drove off. There was no more light on the road; their only light was from the retreating car. The trio began their trek, and eventually, faint orangey blobs could be seen in the horizon, and Seras sighed with relief as the view of a small cluster of houses loomed into view.

"Let us begin our investigation." Alucard said as he scrutinised the damaged, tattered sign that was hammered into the ground. It said '_Bail' Ailein_'. "Come along, Police Girl."

"Yes, master." Seras followed him with a huge plastic case (that was cleverly concealing her gun) slung over her shoulder. "I wonder what we'll find here." She said as Seward sauntered after them and into the village. "I didn't think places like this still existed…"

It was quiet; the streets were empty. There were no street lights save for a lit lamp or so standing atop a random barrel every five blocks or so. There didn't seem to be the hint of a person around. They wandered around, noticing the dilapidated state of the houses.

"Don't stray too far, Police Girl."

"Yes, master."

After walking past the first few houses, Seward took note from the structure that they were only one storey, and very, very small. Moving away from the neighbourhood, the trio stepped into what appeared to a small village square, where a worn down village hall, barbershop, a feed shop, and the local grocers were erected, standing proud in view but still let down by their deteriorated state. A chapel and cemetery could be seen in the distance. In the middle of the square was a hole in the ground. Seward threw a look inside; Seras peered down beside him, while Alucard inspected the barred windows of the shops.

"…Do you think there are people here?" Seras said, listening to her voice echo around the stone walls of the dried-out well. "It _is _too far from the main city for people to live here."

"They must be self-sufficient. I'll go knock on a door and see if anyone can talk to us." Seward said.

"Me too."

The doctor and draculina left the well to walk up to the doors of random houses away from the village square. At his chosen door, Seward scoured around for a doorbell, or a letterbox, but there were none. He resorted to curling his fist and rapping his knuckles lightly on the beechwood. There was no response. Seward tried again, rapping with a little more strength compared to his previous attempt. "Hello? Is somebody there? Please, it's urgent. Is anybody there?"

Finally, the door opened – it gave a low creak, and then, a pale and ashen face stared back at him. It was an elderly woman; her hair was wild and grey, and she was long-faced, her cheeks were stringy and hollowed, and her eyes sunken, her elastic-like skin stretched and bedraggled. She clutched the carpet-like shawl that was draped over her shoulders closer to herself with one ragged, wrinkled hand.

Seward took a while to respond as he stared at her. The woman was positively emaciated and spooky; he swallowed down and said, "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but I have a question to ask you – "

The door was promptly slammed shut before he finished his sentence. Seward blinked. What happened had happened very fast, in less than three seconds for a fact. He turned back to Alucard who merely responded with an amused grin and turned to Seras, who also elicited no response from her chosen house no matter how many times she knocked and called. Seward averted his attention back to the door and knocked again, but the woman did not open for him. Instead, she yelled in a language that was not quite English. "_Dèan às_!" She was screeching, over and over again.

With no success, Seward and Seras retreated back to Alucard's side. "They're afraid of us. It's no use."

"Leave them be, you two. Xenophobia has burrowed its roots here. I have found something far more interesting."

The two gazed at another exit of the village near the south which had piqued Alucard's interest. A sign near the wooden frame said 'Bail' Ailein dhe'Fireach' leading to the dusty outline of a mountain in the horizon up ahead.

Seras gazed at the path of the village that spread outwards; it was a winding, dark and foreboding trail, lined with a tremendous amount of trees and undergrowth that led all the way up to a large, rocky peak in the horizon, then trailed after Alucard as he began to set foot on the muddy path without further ado with Seward following suit as he gave worried glances over his shoulder.

"Vampires prefer to dwell in isolated regions away from humans. I doubt we will find out much in this village." Alucard replied.

A few minutes into their trek and Seward suddenly said, "Mr Alucard, Miss Seras, you might want to look at this."

The vampires glanced over faintly to see what Seward was pointing at. In the village they left behind, a sea of dishevelled-looking figures holding oil lamps could be seen. The villagers. They had gathered at the square and were now staring at the group inquisitively.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Morris escorted Ruby home; he said they should really stay on the path to Hellsing and not deviate because of the strict schedule, but he could allow Ruby to at least check what happened back home. She told Joshua to stay with Morris, then left the car and stormed up to her house, to see an empty black car parked outside the gates. It could not have been a Hellsing car, however… She nervously opened the door to her house and stepped inside the building.<p>

"…Mum? Dad?"

The house smelled of cigarettes. When she opened the door to the lounge, she stared at the strange men loitering in her living room. There were at least five or six, all dressed in black suits, with sunglasses. Their attire reminded her of bodyguards, although the scale tipped heavily in favour towards the possibility of these men being members of the mafia. Had her father accidentally gotten himself unintentionally involved with the black market?

However, Ruby's attention was captured by the man who was sitting on her father's armchair with one leg crossed over the other. He was the only one to not be adorned in a black suit, and he was also the only one to be sitting down; he was young, with short black hair to his ears and he too had sunglasses, and was dressed in an expensive-looking grey suit with a white shirt and a black tie that heightened his pale complexion. A lit cigarette was squashed in between his lips, and when he saw Ruby, he smirked.

The man standing by his side was big and burly, with slicked-back raven hair and brown eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. He also had a far larger build compared to his companion in the couch, who was skinnier and leaner. When Ruby glanced up at the big, bulky man, he responded to her stare with an equal stony glare of his own. It was then she caught sight of strange, raggedy scars across the width of his forehead and the left side of his head where it was more evident.

_Surgical scars? _According to her history textbook, those scars appeared to be from procedures to the brain such as lobotomies... "…W-who are you people?"

The man sitting down spoke first. "Make sure she came here alone."

"Yes, sir." The big burly man stomped out of the living room, "You three, come with me."

Ruby paled as the men left. _Oh no,_ she thought, _Mr Morris! And_…_ Joshua… _She feared the worst as a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. _That guy on the couch must be the leader_…_but he's so young…_ Upon closer inspection, she thought she had seen him before, too. "Where's my family?"

"Your mother is in the basement, and your father is receiving his punishment for trying to send you far, far away from here."

"Let them go! Whatever debts my family has, I-I'll pay."

To her surprise, the seated man merely erupted into mocking laughter, and she blinked numbly at him. "Debt?" He questioned, before he laughed harder, and Ruby saw the telltale, sharp tips of fangs in his mouth.

The colour drained from her face once again. _Vampire?_ _This man… no, these men, are vampires? What's going on? And…is he the guy from the portrait?_

"You've forgotten, Ruby?" said the strange young man, "Yes, that's right, I know your name. I'll get round to that soon. Let's just say… I can't blame you for not knowing who **_I _**am…it's been a long time since the last time I saw you…you were just a toddler…but look how much you've grown; I hardly even recognise you. And this…It's nice to know you at least remembered me a little during our short time together."

She stared when he unravelled the family crayon drawing from his hand, and when he held it up to her, smirking, her mouth fell open in shock.

He grinned at her reaction, then stood up from the sofa, dusting down at his suit and crushing his cigarette with his black, leather-gloved fingers. He watched the brittle white and brown components float down to their carpet, and turned to her. She stepped away from him as he neared, "Don't be frightened, Ruby. I won't hurt you…I would never hurt you, because we have so much history, you and I."

Before Ruby could even realise what was happening – he slapped her squarely across the cheek with the back of his hand. She reeled slightly from the impact, her hair falling over her eyes, and raised a shaking hand to her stinging cheek.

"You – "

He struck her once more and she stared at him, wide-eyed. When he raised his arm again, she automatically flinched, but then he smiled, his hand lowering to her reddened cheek to stroke it affectionately. "You know better than to talk back to me, Ruby."

An awful silence engulfed them for a few seconds. She could do nothing but gawk at him wordlessly, clutching her stinging cheek.

"Why do you look so shocked?" He said, as he let go of her, "Just because you are the so-called 'mate' of the No-Life King, that doesn't mean you are untouchable. It does not grant you any unique ability, title or protection…nor are you privileged in any way. You are still nothing but a worthless little human." Then he took off his sunglasses.

It was indeed the man from the portrait, confirming her suspicions. The more she looked at him, the more the portrait didn't do him justice. He was surprisingly more attractive up close and in person. She gasped as soon as his blood-red eyes met her gaze. Those chilling eyes were unmistakeable. She had seen them before countless times. _Those…red eyes…from my…_

"Dreams?" He suggested.

"How did you - " She paused, "...You're Caelum." Ruby didn't remotely understand. _He knows me. He knows my family…but…why…?_

As if reading her mind, he said, "Of course I know you. You're one of my people, after all. I have been watching you for a long time. In fact, I have been… _observing _humans for a long time. And now…I have come to take you back, Ruby."

* * *

><p>They'd been walking on the path for a long time since leaving the village. Gazing over his shoulder, Seward realised the village looked like scenery in a snowglobe. Scaling the path with the two vampires, and he wondered what they may find when they reached the foot of the mountain. Maybe they'd find something amazing, or something truly horrifying. An adventure to the very core, he thought.<p>

He felt a cold breeze whip past him and shivered slightly; the temperature here was far more frigid than at village. It was starting to get chilly and icy. Seras and Alucard seemed unaffected by the sudden decrease in temperature, however, and he stopped in pace when he noticed Alucard, who had been in front of him, had stopped also. Seward peered over to see what had temporarily stopped Alucard in his tracks: it was a large, rectangular stone slab that had been propped in the middle of the clearing.

"Intriguing." Alucard murmured, when Seward approached it, unfolding the map.

"What is it?" Seras asked, as she joined Seward' side.

"This must be the shrine where they offered sacrifices." Seward deduced, as he inspected it thoroughly. There seemed to be nothing else on the slab except from a few marks from the obvious exposure of the environment and weather. He rubbed his finger along the frayed surface and looked at his finger. "It hasn't been used for a long time…" He whipped out his notepad from his pack and began taking down notes with a ballpoint pen until Alucard grabbed his attention by stalking past him. "Mr Alucard, where are you going?"

His question was answered when Alucard pointed all the way up, and Seward and Seras gazed up at the towering peak. They had finally reached the base of the mountain. How on earth were they going to climb that? They watched Alucard leap up to the very top with their jaws hanging in mid-air as the No Life King landed on the summit in seconds.

"Police Girl, if you have a fear of heights, then stay with the doctor. I will scout ahead." Alucard said.

"Pardon?" Seward replied; he hadn't heard. Alucard was too far up.

"I-I'm not scared of heights, master." However, Seras had managed to hear with her advanced hearing, and she called up to him, before she turned to Seward. "Will you be alright by yourself here, Dr Seward?"

"I'll be fine, Miss Seras. You should go ahead with Alucard."

"Okay." She strode to the mountain and grasped onto one rock, then began to attempt to climb the mountain. Seward watched the draculina; she was already halfway up.

With Seras on her way slowly but surely, Alucard scouted the summit by himself. The peak granted a nice view of the stars but this was no way accessible by humans; he thought twice if he should return for the two rookies, but when he saw that there was a cave directly in front of him, he decided to go in. The summit contained nothing but trees, bushes, fungus, rot and moss. He sniffed the air; the faint stench of blood was clearly evident. However, there didn't seem to be any sign of vampires nor was there anything of particular interest except from a small glow coming from the innards of the cave.

He went inside without further ado; the cave itself was dark and dank, the pebbly walls grimy and smarmy to touch. Droplets of water dripped from mini stalactites and onto his shoulders and the wide, floppy brim of his hat, but he did not pay it any attention. After what seemed another long walk, he arrived at the clearing to see a poorly made fireplace out of chopped pieces of wood and tufts of weeds, before his gaze landed on the hunched up figure that was hovering over the corpse of a deer. Sensing his presence, the hunched-up figure turned round before scrambling away for cover.

Alucard was faster; he re-appeared in front of the fleeing vampire, and the vampire bumped into him, glancing up meekly as Alucard stared at him from the bottom of his eyes. "And where do you think you are going?"

The vampire tried to fight Alucard, his claws and fangs at the ready, but again, Alucard was quicker, and with one fluid motion, he'd shot a bullet from the Casull into the vampire's left leg. The leg flew off in a spray of blood over the cold ground, and the vampire stared in muted shock at his severed limb, then whipped his head up to Alucard.

"I-I'm sorry! P-Please doon shoot me in the heed, please doon kill me, oh almighty one, oh powerful and strong one, oh tall and handsome one, please doon kill me!" He yelped, with a thick Scottish accent, and he scrambled up to Alucard and wrapped his arm around his leg.

Alucard raised an eyebrow in response at the vampire, but grinned. The creature appeared malnourished and emaciated; it was no doubt a 'he' and his attire of a greying shirt and slacks that greatly resembled the villagers' wear. His head was a mop of tousled, dirty blonde hair that curled past his ears, and he was filthy all over and bruised, save for the clear blue eyes that were blinking up at him pleadingly. "Ah know you doono what's goin' on here." He spluttered, "But I didnae mean to take over your cave, I dinna ken, honestly. I dinna ken you'd be coming home so quickly."

It seemed this vampire had confused Alucard with somebody else.

Alucard glanced around, noticing the piles and piles of human bones scattered around the cave. "Are you responsible for this?"

The vampire threw a quick glance to the human bones and then shook his head. "You think ah did all that? No, you got it wrong, sir, ah didnae kill these human varmints, honest!"

"And what do you call yourself, cretin?"

The vampire began kissing Alucard's boot, his lips making a loud, smacking sound with each kiss. "Thade Nuvos, sir, at your service sir, oh please doon kill me, sir. Please find it in yer dead heart to spare a simpleton like me, sir. I am quite useful; I make a good shoe cleaner, aye. I am just a lonely scavenger – " He pointed to the dead deer and then to a pile of other dead animals ranging from possums to weasels and owls. " – and I 'ave never bitten a human varmint cos' personally, ah think they taste a wee bit like petrol."

"Thade." Alucard repeated, and the vampire nodded feverishly. "That's an interesting name."

"Real name's Herbert, sir."

"What are you doing here, Herbert-Thade?"

"Can't a vampire live hassle-free away from them human varmints, sir?"

However, a new voice entered the fray before Alucard could question anymore: "_Master_!"

The two vampires turned to the direction of the new voice; and Seras, who had finally arrived, stared wide-eyed at Thade the vampire who had gasped and let go of Alucard's boot. "A police girl? Nae wonder!" Thade exclaimed, "Ah should've known. It's you! Hellsing's trashman! The trump card o' Hellsing! Ah heard about ye! Ah heard how you recently got yer own wee fledgling. They said she was a police girl, alright. Ah heard so much about ye; how ye kill all them evil vampires without batting an eyelid or workin' up a sweat, how ye swim gracefully in a sea of blood. Oh god, have mercy!"

"Uh…What is that, master?" Seras asked, pointing to the vampire who had gone back to kissing Alucard's boot.

Alucard glanced down, and smirked. "An interesting toy. Police Girl, you can do the honours."

_Honours?_ He must mean 'interrogation'. "Yes, master. But…who is he?"

"Me?" Thade squeaked, "Ye talkin' to me? Ach, me name's Thade Nuvos. Ah live in the cave just a few ledges doon, but it's not as warm and cosy as this one." The vampire grinned at Seras as he eyed her head to toe, then tidied his non-existent hair and wolf-whistled, much to the draculina's embarrassment, "Hey, sweets, want some luvin'? Thade got plenty of love, right 'ere, an' he got his own sweet pad, too." He patted an oblong, squat rock beside him, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

Seras dove behind Alucard in seconds. "…Eek!" She squeaked, "…W-We just have a few questions we would like to ask you, Mr Nuvos…"

Thade doubled over with cackling, harrowing laughter, and Seras cringed furiously. "Alrigh', alrigh', go on and ask, sweets. Ask me anythin'. Just doon let yer master kill me. I didnae do anythin'."

"W-Well, um, d-do you recognise this symbol?"

Thade stared at the photocopy Seras nudged over to him from a safe distance away, then he shook his head. "Nope."

"You lie." Alucard snarled, before the nozzle of the Casull was thrust against Thade's temple. "I am in no mood for games, Herbert-Thade. If you value your miserable life then tell us everything you know."

"A-Alrigh', fine…" Thade snatched the photocopy of the symbol off the ground; he pulled out a pair of glasses from the innards of his tattered coat, put them on and inspected it closely. "Aye, I've seen this symbol alright. It's the seal of them _Guardians of the Black Flame_."

"The Black Flame Knights."

"Aye, that's them, the wee bastards." Thade grunted, as he replaced his glasses back into his shirt.

"Why did you call them Guardians?"

"'Cause they were, half a century ago. What do you want wi' them?"

"They have become of interest to Hellsing." Alucard replied, with a slanted grin.

"But they're no' the kind to be messin' around with Hellsing." Thade picked his leg off the ground and re-attached it to the wound, where it was beginning to heal.

"What do you know about them, Mr Nuvos?"

Thade rubbed at the back of his head, then sighed. "Not much. From what I heard, it was created by a vampire called Gideon. He began collecting newly-turned vampires and helped them control their blood lust. They moved here from Romania, and they been livin' in England ever since."

"Is Gideon still alive?"

"Nah, he got his head chopped off."

"So it's someone else. Caelum?"

"Aye, ye know 'bout Caelum? If you doono, he's a vampire, like all of us." Thade said, glancing from Alucard, to Seras. "They say he's off his nut. But that's vampires we're talking about. O' course we're all mad."

"You speak as though you are affiliated with him." Alucard replied; Thade whimpered again.

"No, sir, I doono him, sir. I just heard 'bout him. Nobody knows who he really is. Nobody knows where he is now. You doon find him, he finds you. Ah heard Hellsing came and chopped all their heads off an' all, but one of 'em survived. Must 'ave been Caelum then."

"How do you know all this, Mr Nuvos?"

"There's plenty o' campfire stories around."

"And how long have you lived here?"

"Twenty years, tops. I move around and around from place to place. Cannae settle in one place for long." Thade replied, scratching at the back of his ear.

Seras sighed inwardly. Integra told them the Knights were killed off by Arthur Hellsing at least fifty years ago. Thade wouldn't have seen what happened then. "Do you know anything else about Caelum?"

"Well…ah heard that Caelum went an' fell in love wi' a village girl...He gave her his heart and soul… but she went and married someone else. And after Hellsing came an' killed all his buddies, he got captured and was taken away. Poor sod."

"He was captured? By who?"

Thade shrugged.

"And what of the villagers? Do they know anything about this?"

Thade was scritch-scratching at himself before rubbing at his face and head over and over again with his fingerless-gloved hands. He thoroughly reminded Alucard and Seras of a grooming, common sewer rat. He uttered, "I doon think so. But they're scared of city people an' won't talk to anyone outside their village. Well, can ye blame them? They got a history of sharing land wi' vampires."

Seras nodded to herself. That would explain the villager's xenophobia. She said, "I thought the Black Flame Knights protected humans?"

Thade let out a squawk of laughter then. "They stopped protecting them varmints ages ago. They had to give offerings, you know! Did ye see that stone in the middle of the road? Aye, that's the shrine. They used to put dead humans in bags, leave 'em there an' then the Knights would send someone doon to collect it and bring it back to the mountain for eaties."

"Why don't they protect humans now? Because Gideon is dead?"

Thade shrugged and began picking fleas off his shirt before flicking them at Seras, who ducked behind Alucard once more. "Maybe. But ah reckon it's Caelum wantin' for revenge for you Hellsing people killing his folk when they did nothing wrong. Them Knights protected humans! Why did Hellsing come and kill 'em? You started it."

"…B-But there was a distress call, right?"

"Then Hellsing must have attacked the wrong vampires, sweets. There were lots o' vampires living here. Nice ones and nasty ones."

"…The wrong vampires…" The draculina breathed as she turned to Alucard consequently, "Sir Hellsing's father attacked the wrong group? And one of them survived…_Caelum_… he wants revenge. What should we do, master?"

The dark-haired vampire laughed mirthlessly; Caelum, whoever he may be, was proving to be interesting. "There is nothing we can do, Police Girl. There is no vampire here at this present time, except from this lowly creature." He said, and Thade winced slightly. "For now, the villagers are quite safe. Let us return to Dr Seward, we've left him in the cold long enough."

….

Once they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they found Seward sitting on a rock, clutching his phone. As soon as the doctor saw their return, he stood up immediately and rushed over, stopping shortly in front of the two.

"I just received a phonecall from Sir Integra." He said, "She told me to tell you that your associates, Frankie Morris, Joshua Sloan, and Ruby Ashcroft are missing."

* * *

><p>Yes I know, I have split Alucard and Ruby up again because…<p>

i am an evil author.

**IMPORTANT! - Chapter Notes/highlights:**

1. Sorry for lack of Alucard x Ruby moments :(

2. Caelum knows Ruby's parents. I won't hand it to you on a plate as its up to you to piece things together if you have been very vigilant, but there were clues in this chapter about almost everything that is to this story.

3. 'Red eyes' was mentioned in Chapter 1, and a few more chapters following that. It appears in Ruby's dreams; it's been part of the story since then and even before the actual story began. He is also featured in a crayon drawing Ruby drew which was found in the previous chapter that show Red Eyes was an associate of Ruby's but she doesn't remember. It turned out to be Caelum, and he is a memory; I deliberately gave the false pretence that this 'Red eyes' wasn't very important, or it could have been, or was Alucard, but it's not… Everything will be made clear in later chapters, unless you may have already figured something out.

...HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW LONG I PLANNED THIS? NYARGHHH THE FRUSTRATION :O

4. Jack Seward is a minor character; he was meant to be sent by Sir Irons to Hellsing, not Morris, but his background didn't quite match the plot then so I had him come out now instead.

5. I exaggerated Thade's accent. Bal'allan/Bail' Ailein is based off a village in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland but the real village is called Balallan, with no apostrophe. I added that in as my own touch :D Isn't fanfiction awesome? You learn new stuff everyday!


	24. Caelum's Tournament and a Bride Auction

**Warnings:** Violence! Language! Stuff inappropriate for kiddies! That will be all.

* * *

><p><em>Caelum's Tournament and a Bride Auction<em>

Morris jerked awake.

His head hurt, his vision was blurry, and slowly, he forced himself to sit up and glance around his surroundings. He had been stripped of his possessions; no phone…no wallet…nothing… His Bowie knife was missing, too.

A wave of panic swept him. He had never been without the knife before, partially because it was his, and he was fundamentally tasked in protecting it. But the first rule was to never panic. Swallowing down, he realised he was failing miserably. Without the knife, he felt vulnerable, he felt useless and weak, and if the knife ended up in the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable…

He tried to remember what had happened before he woke up, dazed and confused and stripped of all his items; Integra asked him to pick Ruby up… she asked if he could take her home and he agreed…he waited in the car with Joshua… What happened to the dracul? What happened then? Some big huge guy came out of the house along three others and they attacked…Morris stabbed one and it turned out the men were vampires…but the huge one was so strong… He was knocked out…

…and now he was here.

He didn't know what had happened to Ruby or Joshua.

"Ruby?" He called, "Josh?"

His response was a groan to his right and Morris scrambled away from a woman he had been lying beside only to bump against another. They were not alone; there were hundreds of people surrounding him, also seemingly 'waking up' at the same time as he. Immediately there was a hubbub of confused voices as soon as everyone 'woke up':

"Where am I?"

"What is this place?"

"What am I doing here?"

Those were the questions Morris should've asked, but others had beaten him to it. Everyone began clamouring against each other in their confusion and panic. The sound of rustling clothes and people moving around had never been so loud before. It reminded him of those_ moshpit_ or_ deathwall_ in rock concerts. The hall was ablaze with animated chatter; the sound of many voices was deafening until -

"**Good afternoon**."

Morris looked up as everyone gradually quietened down. The white building containing them all resembled a large warehouse, with no windows. There were at least four or five hundred people crammed in this one place; Morris had no choice but to be squished between random individuals because there was simply not enough space for him to stand. At the far end of the wall was a gigantic TV screen was affixed to the middle of the wall along two speakers, which had now switched on.

He recognised the man on screen. It was the man from the portrait.

_Caelum?_

A smile appeared on the man's enlarged, pixelated face on the TV screen. "**Welcome all**." He was saying, "**Welcome to my tournament. My name is Caelum; I am the host, and I am responsible for bringing you here**."

Morris listened intently as worried and anxious murmurs began to surmount.

Caelum continued, his voice echoing from the speakers on all four corners of the hall, "**You are gathered here today to participate in a tournament**."

_Tournament?_ This would be the first time Morris had heard such a thing.

"Is this a government project?" One of the member of the five hundred-or-maybe-more audience asked. The singular sound of the voice and the quietness of the crowd was enough for the question to be carried all the way to the front.

However, there was no response to the question from Caelum, and there were a few jeers from the crowd. "It's a fucking recording!" A man shouted angrily, before his irate remark was echoed by others.

It was indeed, a recording. "**This is a private tournament, sponsored by my stakeholders. You were not chosen because of who you are, or what you are. You were chosen at random. You are not special and you are insignificant. And no-one will be able to find you here; we made sure of it**."

"You kidnapped us?"

"We can't leave?"

The voices of the public were growing angrier with each passing instance.

"**No-one will be able to find you because this is a top-secret location. You will have nowhere to run, and you will have nowhere to hide. You will not survive**. **This tournament is for entertainment purposes**. **You are the prey.**"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Entertainment purposes."

"**This tournament is for entertainment purposes**." The recording of Caelum said, "**You are the prey**."

Following his remark were mortified gasps and exclaims of disbelief from the crowd.

"I don't believe you! You're crazy!" Someone screamed. "Don't listen to him!"

"**This tournament is for entertainment purposes**." The recording repeated, "**You are the prey**."

"This isn't real!"

"I don't believe this, you fucking moron!"

"Yeah! Asshole! Fuck this shit!"

"Who the fuck are you to do this to us? Come out, wherever you are!"

However, the recording seemed to have stuck, like a needle scraping on a record, and Morris began to feel a surge of panic overwhelm him again. "**This tournament is for entertainment purposes**. **You are the prey**."

* * *

><p>"What an eyesore. They're such a mouthy, violent bunch." Caelum said, his face scrunching up with disgust. "They're even worse than they were three hundred years ago. Remind me to make a new recording."<p>

"Yes, sir." said Ermen.

Caelum left the balcony and sauntered back into the parlour of the castle.

It was called_ Fort Cassandra_; when Gideon and the rest of the Guardians came to the island, they fought off the invaders who had besieged the marvellous, mountainous edifice and threw them over the walls and into the rushing ocean the castle was built next to; a poorly servant girl called Cassandra was the only survivor, having holed herself up in the basement away from the pillagers. The castle, ownerless and empty, became a summer retreat for the Guardians which was rebuilt and re-modified. They added a thirty-foot high palisade, guard towers, turrets, and made the foundations more robust since it was built atop a mountain. Caelum's recent visit had him adding modern furnishings such as the warehouse, helicopter landing pads and control rooms for CCTV. Who could blame him? He had all the time in the world…

Fort Cassandra and the island soon became the official location for the tournament to take place because of its remoteness and the torrid ocean currents that made it inaccessible by boats. The only way to arrive and leave was by air.

Caelum ventured towards the grand hall; he was dressed in this season's Prada suit and matching shoes, while Ermen was in a suit he chose from last year's wardrobe. Luther was nowhere to be seen, but Ermen knew the albino had always despised social gatherings and inwardly, Ermen wished he too could reject invitations so easily.

The president was scrutinising the warehouse scene using his phone with the white earphones plugged into his ears, watching the mob begin to grow angry and rebel and devastate the surroundings of the warehouse. In minutes, the crowd had become an angry throb, a pack of wild animals, and all were destroying the TV and speakers and everything else they came across in the warehouse, and once everything else was destroyed, some began attacking each other while others began to make their escape through the only door of the warehouse.

Caelum pulled off the earphones. "Look at that. It's the descendant of Quincey Morris. He's rounding up the crowd."

They continued to watch Morris push and shove through before clambering up onto the stage and attempt to quieten the crowd. Without the earphones plugged in, it appeared as though Morris was beseeching them. A few laughed at him, the majority did not. Soon, Morris was picking up a crowbar he found amongst the destroyed stage and feeling the weight in his hand. Others too began to follow his lead, picking up anything they could find. The humans who laughed at Morris, began to glance at each other awkwardly before setting off to find their own weapons for self-protection.

"He's good." commented Ermen.

"…There's not much he can do without his prized knife. Let's go in and greet the guests."

"Yes, sir." His henchman repeated, although he sounded a little tired.

"Cheer up, Ermen. I know you don't like parties, but it only happens once a leap year." He switched off the video player, handed it to his associate, then adjusted his tie and pushed open the doors.

Once Caelum stepped in, all the guests turned to him, with their wine glasses balancing in their hands, and began applauding. Ermen entered after him and closed the door behind them, then took note of the countless ladies and gentlemen all dressed in expensive evening wear. There was music; a woman at the far right of the great hall was singing an aria he was not familiar with, her unearthly voice echoing around the walls. Entertainers in demonic-looking masks were juggling with knives and daggers while some were swallowing swords or blowing fire from their mouths earning applause from the watching crowd. Sniggering clowns with daring facepaint paraded and cartwheeled around the room in a circle, while body contortionists in tight, flamboyantly leotards made a grotesquely enchanting display near the buffet.

_Caelum sure brought out the big guns this year_, Ermen thought as he passed a human buffet. He stared, watching the 'bloodtender'; a vampire in another sparkly costume and mask, who was holding a butcher's cleaver.

"Gather up, gather up! We have all sorts of age ranges, from years 1-5, 10-15, and 15 onwards! Take your pick!" He was exclaiming as other vampires began to gather around. In the cage behind the bloodtender was a group of terrified, naked humans of all ages who were sobbing and huddling in the corner.

He turned away from the sight to concentrate on the rest of this evening's events. The room itself was a vision; with its luscious red carpet, red trimming, and ornate, gold decorations littering the entire room. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing and glimmering. The surreality of it all was beyond belief; Ermen sincerely thought this was a waste of money; they could have invested it in weaponry or maintenance, but ultimately, they knew they had to impress.

"Ah! Herr Caelum, ze man who made zhis possible."

Caelum glanced up to see a man of short-stature with slicked blonde hair and thick spectacles. He was accompanied with two odd-looking men and a little boy; one of the men was staring at the buffet sternly; he was tall and silent, dressed in a dark khaki greatcoat whilst the other companion of the Major's was an eerie, ghost of a man, grinning wickedly while his eyes remained hidden by six-lense glasses. He was prodding at one of the swirling olives in his drink glass while the little boy - a blonde boy with cat-ears poking out from his hair - was engrossed in watching the body contortionists.

"…Major?" Caelum uttered, with an eyebrow raised.

"I really do like vhat you have done to zhis place." The short, bulky man said as he walked closer to the president.

"Thank you, Major." replied Caelum, a little warily, "…I didn't expect to see you here considering how busy you were in Germany."

"And miss zees party?" The Major chuckled, "You vere alvays an entertaining man, Herr Caelum. I look forward in vhatever you have planned in ze future."

"…Would you care for some more Delord Freres Amagnac?"

"Chateau Musar, if you have it, thank you."

"You heard the Major. The wine table's over there." Caelum patted Ermen's shoulder, and the bigger man sighed inwardly while Caelum continued to entertain the guests. He carefully manoeuvred towards the wine table so as not to step on the women's extravagant but grandiose, silk bedgowns; it seemed like the romantic reconnaissance era all over again.

"This year's participants are far more livelier." A beautiful woman said out loud; she had dark raven hair fashioned into a bun, and she dressed in a modernized plum-red evening gown with black, elbow-length gloves. Following her remark were murmurs of agreement and laughter.

The rich were surely from another dimension, Ermen thought, as Caelum took a wine glass off one of the waiters and held it up to his awaiting subjects, "I guarantee you all…" The president began, "…this year, it will be a tournament to remember."

* * *

><p><strong>3 hours later.<strong>

"This is the No-Life King's mate?"

"But she's so plain and ugly!"

"I can't believe the No-Life King's all over her."

"It makes me sick."

"Me too."

Ruby woke up; she glanced around to find herself in an unfamiliar room; it appeared to be a dressing room of some sort, with a vanity desk with various cosmetics, while a stand complete with dresses and hats on the hooks stood in the corner. Ruby herself was sitting on a chair with her wrists tied to the armrests, and her legs were tied to the chair legs in the middle of the room.

She was not alone, for there were a group of inquisitive women surrounding her in a semi-circle, their presences and close-proximity both invading and suffocating. These women were all adorned in fancy dress and with their hair done up in fashionable hairstyles; Ruby swallowed down automatically as they neared. These women were so beautiful, so very nymph-like and eloquently enchanting, with their large eyes and long, dark eyelashes. Their features were strong, but delicate and…ethereal, even, bestowing these women a mysterious quality to them. A sense of déjà vu hit her and she remembered that dream she had of Alucard and his brides; the air and grace of the women who appeared to her in the dream were eerily identical to the women here.

"W-Who are you…?" Ruby croaked out, but the women merely burst into peals of laughter. At her. Never had she felt so confused and out of place before.

"Let's bite her." said one of the beautiful women, and the rest began murmuring their own opinions.

"No, let's cut off her arms."

Following that remark were whispers and mirthless sniggers, "We should cut her face up too." added one of the women in the middle, "The No-Life King won't love her then."

While the rest of the women agreed and giggled, Ruby began to panic, as the women began to close on her – they reached for her, their hands landing on her and their fingers gliding and dancing over the skin of her face and her neck - and as they opened their mouths, the poor girl stared in horror at the sight of their horrible fangs in their jaws; the women were advancing in all directions. It seemed her neck was not even their primary target; they would target everywhere of her, they would bite her face off and -

"Stop! Cease this at once! Leave her alone!" A figure stormed inside and pulled back some of the women, before harshly slapping the vampire who was about to bite Ruby; the vampire hissed at the newcomer, but surprisingly enough, did not retaliate. "Leave this place at once, you witches. Who let you in?"

"Witches?" One of them screeched. "How dare you!"

"No-one must harm her; anyone who does so will have to answer to Caelum." asserted Ruby's saviour. "Now leave this place at once, return to your masters."

"Hmph. We were just curious, that's all…" Without another word, the vampire ladies sauntered away, drifting into the darkness of the room. Ruby let out a shaky breath of relief, and meekly gazed up at the woman.

"…Mary?"

"Oh my goodness, Ruby." Mary wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her tightly. "Are you alright?"

"Mary, w-what are you doing here? And why - "

Mary let go of her. "I'm sorry; I can't tell you everything just yet. In fact, I shouldn't even be here; listen, I can't help you escape right now, but there is someone who can. For now, you must play along, alright?"

"I-I don't understand."

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard and Mary shot back up. "They're coming. I'm so sorry, Ruby. I'm so sorry it has come to this. Goodbye."

"No, wait, Mary, come back - "

She watched in horror as Mary exited the room from a door to the left, just in time for the door to the right of the room to open, and an old lady came bumbling in and glanced at Ruby, then pulled a brown sack off the table which Ruby didn't notice before. "…God have mercy on your soul when they throw you to the wolves, my dear."

Ruby gasped. "What? What are you talking about? Hey! D-Don't – " The sack was thrown over her head, the drawstring pulled tight around her neck.

Panicking, Ruby glanced around blindly underneath the grainy fabric of the sack. She heard the woman say, "I'll be back soon with the rest of the servants. Stay there." And then she walked away, her footsteps echoing off the flagstone floor.

Amidst her rage and frustration of having to be stuck in predicaments like these and not knowing what was happening, Ruby yelled and screamed and shook her head furiously side to side in a vain attempt to break free and, if possible, throw the sack off her head, as she sat in the chair with her arms and ankles tied to the arm rests and chair legs respectively.

A few minutes later, she heard more footsteps re-approach her and she was carried off the chair and made to lie on what seemed to be a bed, breathing heavily, unaware of what was going on, but then she felt a cold hand on her and heard the rustle of clothes and realised someone was removing her jacket. The hands touching her did not appear sexual or intimate, but she cried and flailed, wriggling around helplessly against her bound wrists and ankles, sobbing. The hands removed her shirt and top, and the slice of scissors shredding through her pants and underwear could be heard.

She lay still and naked as she continued to weep at the humiliating experience, until she was forced to sit up with her hands tied behind her; a garment was forced on her, it covered her breasts and pushed them firmly together. It felt like silk; the garment was tightened around her waist from the back and she could hear the tug of string tightening. Her legs were lifted up and more silk was pushed on her. What she was forced into felt like underwear. Then the hands disappeared and she was left the way as she was, before she was forced to stand up.

The hands guided her through the darkness.

Swallowing down, she had no choice but to follow, stumbling over her own feet along the way.

Eventually, she was brought to a stop, brought into a place with lively jazz music, but the music quietened down and all she could hear were quiet murmurs and whispers. The hands left her arm, and her ankles were untied, and then the bag was pulled off her head. Ruby stared at the darkness, but then a bright light flickered on, and another, and another, and she flinched away from the intensity. It was then she realised she was standing under numerous spotlights.

"And starting off at a bid of one hundred million Great British pounds, Miss Ruby Ashcroft, the very mate of the No-Life King himself!" An energetic voice exclaimed to her right, and Ruby turned to a man standing at a podium with a gavel in hand. "Starting at one hundred million pounds, folks! Do I hear a two hundred million? You there, the gentleman in blue, is that a three? Yep, it's a three… Four? Yes, the gentleman at the far right with the black tie, five hundred, you say?"

She didn't know what was going on, but suddenly she was standing on the stage with her hands tied behind her back and as she threw a quick glimpse at herself, she stared in revulsion to see that she was adorned in nothing but a skimpy, black silk corset embroidered with red ribbons at the front and back, with matching silk panties complete with suspenders and lacy stockings. Her face burned with shame and she tried to cover herself up, earning jeering laughter from the crowd she could not see.

This was a…a…nightmare…this was truly a _nightmare_… She wanted to run away, but she couldn't see anywhere she could escape to. The stage appeared closed off and she did not want to run towards the crowd.

Instead, Ruby squeezed her eyes shut as she stood helplessly under the spotlight, sobbing.

…

"You're not going to the Bride Auction, sir?"

"No." He replied, having decided to leave the party for now, "Perhaps you should go, Ermen, get yourself a nice bride."

"I'm perfectly fine with Cassandra, sir."

Caelum glanced around, "Where's Luther?"

"I'll go find him, sir."

As Ermen left to look for Luther, Caelum was watching the tournament via the Control room television screens, all showing live footage from hidden cameras set up around the island. One screen showed a group of vampires in the forest feasting on a group of humans who were still-alive. Another screen showed a human trekking through another section of the forest, hacking at trees with a make-shift knife made out a blade sello-taped to a stick. Another screen showed two humans, one man and woman, organising stones on the beach spelling SOS. Finally, the last screen showed a woman being chased through the forest by three shadows before being pounced on. She screamed. The shadows soon revealed themselves to be vampires. Although the screen showed the scene in silence, Caelum could hear distant screaming outside.

Was this happening close by?

He swivelled round in his chair to the window, an eyebrow raised, then turned back to the screen and watched the screen again.

Suddenly, a man sprang out of the trees from out of nowhere and with a crowbar in hand, began attacking the vampires. Caelum watched with intrigue as the man who turned out to be _Morris_ - hacked and slashed away, although he looked weary and dishevelled. He was bloody and bruised, his clothes filthy and slathered with dirt and blood.

_Taking on three vampires at once and without the Bowie knife?_ Upon that thought, Caelum took out said knife from his pocket and gazed at it before smirking. The Bowie knife was different than the kukri knife; the blade was thinner, sharper, and was in better shape than the kukri knife. Over the centuries, it must have passed through various ownerships. He continued to watch Morris stab the rounded hook of the crowbar into one of the vampire's neck before ripping it off, before he turned round quickly before another could attack - he stabbed the sharp end into the vampire's heart and then finally turned to the last, remaining vampire.

The vampire lunged at him, but Morris dodged and rammed the crowbar into the vampire's back, making the creature land face-down into the ground. Before long, Morris began slamming the long metal rod over the vampire's head over and over again relentlessly, hammering the crowbar with so much strength he stopped after three minutes, breathing heavily.

Caelum continued watching. _I may have underestimated the vampire hunter a bit…_

Nudging the unmoving creature with his foot, Morris watched the vampires disappear into nothing but blood then returned to the woman. He knelt down beside where she lay, turned her round and shook her. A few seconds later of stillness, the woman suddenly sprang at him with a snarl, having been turned into a Ghoul. Morris leapt back and clutched the crowbar tightly before reluctantly swinging the steel into the Ghoul's head.

He used so much force the head flew off the body clean off the shoulders. He watched the head soar, as though it was a golf ball that had been hit by a golf club. Caelum stared as Morris stood motionlessly, with his eyes closed. The vampire hunter shook his head, then clutched at his stomach. Morris was seen wincing, and then he pulled something out from his abdomen – an over-sized claw from one of the vampire's talons. Clutching his bleeding wound, the man continued his trek and disappeared off the camera screen.

The door to the Control Room re-opened; and the president glanced over his shoulder to see Ermen shuffling in. "Where is Luther? You couldn't find him?"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir."

Caelum stood up in his seat abruptly and the door opened, but it was merely one of the servants who had entered. "Where's Luther? He was meant to be here."

"He went to the Bride Auction, sir."

"WHAT?" Caelum and Ermen roared in unison. "He went to the…but why would he – " The president was cut off when another person - a woman - stepped into the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

"Hello, father." She said expectantly, when he gazed at her.

"…Mary?" Caelum uttered, "What are you doing here?"

**Meanwhile.**

Joshua was in a dark place.

He was sprawled over a cold floor in the Loading Bay, his muscles useless and practically paralysed. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but knew now that he was stuck in a cage of some sort and suddenly, light flooded the room, and he stared up at two huge, hulking shadows behind the bars – vampires – and he paled drastically, when they unlocked the cage, stepped in and grabbed him by under the arms.

"Damn boss tells us to look after some stupid punk while others get to go to the Bride Auction." grumbled one of the vampires.

"Did ya hear? The No-Life King's mate is up for sale. I heard she's going at six hundred to seventy eight million pounds at the moment." exclaimed the other.

"Shit! I've been alive for a hundred years and I still don't have that much money. Man, am I a failure or what?"

Joshua made a noise and tried to jerk free, startling the two. They glanced at him, and sighed.

"Sorry, kiddo. Caelum's orders. No loose ends."

He was dragged out and flung over a large wooden block on the floor, his head laid to hang over the edge so he was facing the ground. He tried to move again but this time, nothing happened; perhaps they injected him with some movement suppressant. All he could do was groan and moan whilst one of the vampires strode to the side and lifted up a fireman's axe, raising the formidable blade up and up, higher above his head.

As a last resort, Joshua's arm shot out and he grabbed onto the vampire's legs. He didn't know what else to do; suddenly, all the training Seras taught him flew from his mind, leaving it an empty blank canvas.

"Hey, geroff me, you little bitch." The vampire barked, trying to shake off the teenage boy's grip on him. "Get off me. Bob, get him off me, will ya?"

His associate attempted to pry Joshua's hand off, but to no avail. "Kid's got an iron grip on ya, Lenny."

There was a frustrated growl and a few moments later the axe head went slamming down and Joshua's arm dropped to the floor in a pool of blood, limp. The dracul stared aghast at his own arm on the ground, his fingers still twitching. He had never had an injury this intense before. He had never had his arm_ chopped_ off before. His eyes glazed over with fear and terror at the gruesome, unfamiliar sight before he saw the vampire raise the axe again. Surely this was the end of him.

"Hold him steady now. Gotta get the head off in one clean swipe."

The boy closed his eyes when the axe came down again, the thick metal ramming into the back of his neck, and he screamed as the blade whittled its way through his spine and into his throat, and the vampire tried to lift the axe back out, realising he hadn't managed to cut off the boy's head from the single blow. He'd only managed to get it in half-way through. He yanked the axe out of Joshua's torn neck and raised it high once more.

The pain began to manifest; blood tears began oozing from the corner of his eyes. It couldn't come to this… to be killed…getting his head chopped off…execution style…How vile and barbaric...He was terrified…

But the vampire was suddenly screaming and the axe dropped out of his hands, clattering to the ground, before a bullet went piercing through his throat. The vampire was choking, before his chilling eyes widened with fear. With a scream, he eroded away into a puddle of blood.

The remaining vampire immediately let go of Joshua, glancing around warily. "W-Who's there? Show yourself and fight like a – _GAAAH_!" He was interrupted by a bullet slamming into his face, his head exploding into nothing but blood and tendrils. The body collapsed to the ground before dissolving to the ground.

Joshua glanced up and saw Seras in front of him, with her gun in one hand and a first-aid kit in another. "Josh!" She cried as she slung the gun over her shoulder, rushed over to his side and knelt down, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, we should've come sooner…Hang in there!"

The dracul could only stare with a hand clutching his head which was threatening to fall off. As Seras hurriedly pulled open the lid of the box and began pulling out all sorts of medicinal supplies, until familiar figures stepped under the light, and Joshua glanced up meekly to see Integra and Walter, along with the implausibly intimidating No-Life King, the very source of vampires and the greatest evil ever imaginable, standing directly in front of him.

"It won't help him, Seras. His injuries are far too extreme; he will have to regenerate." Integra said, as she puffed a whiff of smoke from her lit cigar.

"R-Regenerate?" The draculina gasped, as she tried to stop Joshua's bleeding.

It hurt to speak. All the dracul could gurgle out was throaty, raspy noises. He didn't know how to regenerate. Becoming a vampire did not come with a manual; the boy wept bitterly, clutching at his severed arm and the deep gash of his neck where blood continued to gush out like a running waterfall. Thick, fat blood tears continued to ooze from the corner of his eyes and dripped onto his lap. He was going to die...

There was a hand on his shoulder and he glanced up at Seras. "Josh, you can do it." The draculina said, with a reassuring nod and smile.

He was about to attempt to speak when Alucard spoke. "What's the matter, Sniffer Dog?" The elder vampire said, smirking at the dracul as though his injury amused him, "Are you going to let a measly wound like that overcome you? If you are, then you do not belong in Hellsing after all. We have no need for weaklings."

Joshua tried to open his mouth, but nothing happened; eventually, he merely closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He had no idea what to do, until he heard Alucard speaking again, his voice echoing in the depths of his mind. "_You are a creature of the darkness, the shadows will assist you. Do not fear what you cannot see, what you cannot feel…for you are no longer human…there is nothing that should limit you_."

Did he have to speak so cryptically? The advice made no sense… Embrace the shadows? How? It wasn't like shadows could be _touched. _Joshua summoned all the strength he had, his eyes squeezing tightly, shadows began forming around his severed arm and his eyes sprung open; Seras gasped slightly - his eyes had turned crimson, burning furiously like a raging fire, and with a brutal yell, an arm thrust out of the severed wound, bloody and engulfed in shadows.

Joshua stared in shock, at the new appendage. He was breathing heavily, his eyes returning to the normal dull, bottle-green colour. "...I gave birth to an arm." He groaned, as he stared at his new fingers that were dripping with blood, and then he realised he was speaking properly again. Gasping, he used his hands to plod around the base of his neck - which had healed completely – and he glanced up at Seras, Integra, Walter and Alucard with relief.

"Thank goodness." Seras said, bringing him into a hug while Joshua glanced again at his repaired arm.

Alucard watched the group intently while Walter went to help Joshua stand. "Come, Mr Sloan. Sir Integra has a helicopter waiting."

"Thank you, Mr Dornez. But…where's Ruby? What about Mr Morris? What happened to her parents? How did you guys even find this place?"

"We haven't been able to locate her parents at the moment, but Alucard is able to track Ruby's location wherever she is. She is in the castle, somewhere." Said Integra, as Walter helped Joshua towards the direction of the helicopter pad. Before she turned to leave, the two vampires watched her, awaiting orders. "Alucard, Seras…_Search and destroy_."

"Yes, my master." Alucard replied, "Police Girl, finding Morris will be your responsibility."

"What about you, master?"

In response to Police Girl's question, Alucard's lips formed into a wide grin, "…There is a certain bride I need to win at the auction."

* * *

><p>"<em>Warning. Intruder alert. Intruder alert<em>."

Caelum sat up in his chair as soon as the alarm sounded off. "Intruder alert?"

He went to the computer and began typing quickly, and up popped the internal CCTV screens on display. He saw nothing out of the ordinary…everything was going smoothly… until he caught sight of the corridor leading to the Loading Bay, where he could see a blonde girl in a mustard-yellow suit running past a few large boxes of cargo ware. On another screen, and an old butler and Integra Hellsing were making their way towards a black Hellsing helicopter along with a limping Joshua.

"Damn. They're here." Caelum muttered, before he grabbed the Bowie knife and slipped it into a protective sheath. "Stop them."

"They've breached one of the security gatehouses and helicopter pads on the far side of the castle. We'll never get to them in time." Ermen replied.

"Alright, fine. Leave them. What about the Police Girl and Alucard? They've infiltrated the castle."

"I will send security to intercept them. But what about the tournament?"

"It's going perfectly. Most of the participants will be dead or have been turned into Ghouls anyway. And the guests can look after themselves."

"…Shouldn't we inform them of what has happened?"

"No. That'll just waste time and raise panic. Let's just leave."

"Of course, sir; there is a secure helicopter waiting for you just above the roof."

He chuckled. "I don't need a helicopter, Ermen. When I'm gone, activate the castle's Self-Destruct." Caelum commanded, "You should stay here to look over things; I leave everything to you."

Ermen nodded compliantly. "Yes, sir. As you wish, sir."

Caelum left the chair and turned to Mary. "Mary, I need to get you out of here. You can still remember those helicopter lessons I gave you for your birthday a few years ago, right?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, father. But what about Luther?"

"He'll be fine. He knows the secret passages of the castle; he can escape there and meet us." He watched Mary and ushered her out of the room, before he turned to Ermen who was now typing on the screen to initiate security procedures. "Ermen."

"Yes, sir?"

"…Although we are not blood-related, I have always treated you as my own brother, and you have served me for years. I can't just leave you here by yourself."

Ermen's expression remained unfazed, however, "I am terribly sorry, sir, but I must stay on the island and buy you enough time to escape." He replied, bowing, "It has been a pleasure serving you."

"…Very well."

"Goodbye, Caelum." Ermen watched him leave, knowing that this would be the last time he would ever get to see his brother again as he slammed his fist on the 'Self Destruct' activation device...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Notes:<strong>

1. There's Something About Mary: I hope you remember Mary, who Ruby spoke of in Chapter 8 or sumthink, who was mentioned again in Chapter 18, who finally made a shortlived appearance in Chapter 22, and then was mentioned as the possible daughter of Emilia who was 'stolen' in the previous chapter? YES, the Mary here is THE Mary, the same 30-40-something year old Mary who was also Ruby's carer. Well, she called Caelum 'father'...sooooo I'll leave it to you to think about it!

2. Delord Freres Armagnac and Chateau Musar are vintage red wine from the 200-500 bucks price range. In American currency, this is from 300-900 USD

3. The Major, the Captain, the Doctor and Schrodinger had guest cameos here; they won't meet Hellsing. I won't write it but they have left the party!

4. Influences for this chapter were Battle Royale, Van Helsing and Taken.

5. The Tournament is the main reason for all the missing people which has been mentioned since the Vampire bar incident so that's another mystery solved! They take humans randomly and it was created by Caelum where it occurs on a remote, mountainous island with a fort where rich vampires and stakeholders/investors go to the castle to party and flaunt their monies and win brides; it's like a big formal event where it is sport to watch the 'participating' humans being hunted by participating vampires. I wanted to write more from Morris POV but it was really hard and there was so many other things to write about too.

6. As of this chapter, Caelum has possession over the kukri knife AND the bowie knife. Do not worry! I do know some of you must be thinking why the characters are ignorant. Well, I'd like to get things out of the way one by one as I concentrated on Ruby and Caelum's characters first... um, sorry, just bear with me, please.


	25. The Seige of Fort Cassandra

I know a lot of you are looking forward to this chapter, but I think it's anticlimatic. I apologise for all the mistakes in the previous chapter, because there was an original...well, I did a crappy job at editing. Don't worry, I've changed it now :) Oh, and BOSS FIGHTTTTT!

**Warning:** OOC(?), and GORE. EXTREME GORE.

* * *

><p><em>It's Not That Hard to Kill a Man<br>(aka The Seige of Fort Cassandra)_

The auction seemed never-ending.

Ruby was still standing on the spotlight, sobbing to herself with her head low, her hair covering her eyes. She wanted to die on the spot right there. The rate of the bids gradually decreased, going from hundred million to hundred and fifty million, then hundred and seventy million and so on.

Eventually, a suave voice in the audience said, "_Eight hundred million_."

There were shocked gasps followed by astonished giggles of delight. The gentlemen turned their heads to the shadowy figure near the door whilst their female companions attempted to get a closer look of this extremely wealthy male. Even the auctioner looked spooked by the proposed amount, his eyes widening in their sockets. "Uh…E-Eight hundred million." He stuttered, his voice wavering, "…Going once…"

There was silence. Nobody dared to make a sound.

"Going twice."

Still nothing. But then –

"Oh! We have competition! Eight hundred and twenty million, to the man at the right!"

All eyes swerved to the 'man at the right'; a man with long, marble-white hair and light red eyes. Luther. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, brooding silently. Ruby stopped crying for a split second and glanced up at the albino vampire in shock; he met her gaze but then turned away without a word.

"_Eight hundred and thirty_." The mysterious, suave voice rebuked to Luther's offer almost immediately.

The auctioner's jaw dropped at the total. "And we have eight hundred and thirty. Do we have eight hundred and fifty? Eight hundred and fifty?"

Luther raised his arm again.

"Eight hundred and fifty it is." declared the auctioner.

"_Eight hundred and seventy_."

Once more, Luther lifted his arm.

"Eight hundred and eighty!"

"_Nine hundred million_."

The voice elicited more startled, astonished gasps from the audience. Ruby merely stood on her spot, trembling. The auctioner turned to the albino vampire expectantly, but this time, Luther did not raise his arm.

"Nine hundred million, going once…Going twice…"

No-one dared make a sound.

And the auctioner thumped his gavel loudly on the podium, grinning widely, "Sold! To the tall gentleman at the very back of the room dressed in the…**red**?" He exclaimed, and Luther began to leave the room, disappearing through the door beside him that said 'fire exit'. The auctioner paid no attention to him, "Sir, please step forward to claim your prize and – " He was cut off by a bullet plunging in deep between his eyes. He fell backwards to the ground, with his grin etched on his face and blood pouring down his eyes and cheeks akin to tears.

In seconds, he was dead.

As everyone turned round to see who had killed the auctioner, there was a chilling scream and –

**SPLAT!**

A man's upper torso went flying against the wall, before it dropped to the ground, blood dribbling across the brick from his insides like a balloon filled with paint that had been thrown onto a canvas.

A lone figure stood in the middle of the room, his red eyes glowing in the darkness.

Alucard.

In his hands was a wriggling, flailing vampire whom he promptly tore in half; the room fell into chaos, but he was faster. Withdrawing the sleek silver Casull from the insides of his jacket, he pulled the trigger and fired shots in almost every direction possible, watching the bullets slam into the unsuspecting vampires he had taken by surprise. There were screams…tables were upturned…glasses smashed to the floor…Ruby couldn't seem to bring herself to move but no bullet penetrated her; she was frozen with a profound, unknown fear and continued standing limply while listening to the dreadful screams and screeches and cries. She squeezed her eyes shut just as blood and gore splattered onto her as the body of a vampire was thrown against the podium near her. Shakily, she re-opened her eyes after a few seconds, flesh and gunk seeping into her mouth despite how tightly clenched her lips were, and she blinked her thick eyelashes through the mess.

A vampire was on the ground crawling towards her, his hand outstretched.

"...T-Tell him to spare me..." He was uttering out, his eyes fixated on her, but a thick, black boot smashed over his skull, squashing his face to the ground into bloody smithereens.

Ruby stared.

The vampires were nowhere to be seen. Blood was slapped over the walls, the tables, the chairs and ceiling along with a macabre decoration consisting of torn limbs, intestines and other innards. A head bounced on the stage, rolling to a stop beside her feet as though it was a trophy of some sort. She did not even have to glance down to already know what had just happened, and her mouth opened into a silent gasp of horror; she tried to scream but nothing came out except from a raspy squeak of disgust. Her voice seemed to have gone into hiding. With trembling arms, she lifted them up to herself and smothered away at the metallic, coppery-smelling sticky mess over her face, arms and hair.

And Alucard, the one responsible for this quick and disturbing slaughter, was standing in front of her.

"_Ruby_." He held his arms out as she looked up, "…Ruby, my love. I have come for you."

With a whimper, she limped towards him and she was in his embrace. Much to his delight, she slipped her arms around his waist, clutching onto him as if fearing he would disappear. Alucard took hold of her cheeks and wiped her face free of blood, then made her gaze at him, but her eyes were slightly dilated with the glassy look. Once again, she was reminded why she should be afraid of him…and also why she should not be…because Alucard loved her…but now…

_Would he kill me too, if he found out?_

He tilted her face up to his with a hand under her chin before he pressed his lips against hers affectionately, which soon turned rough and harsh as he applied more force, as though he hadn't kissed her for an eternity. Nothing happened; he did not successfully evoke a response from her despite the heated contact that had him stiffening all over as he pressed her lean body against him. He repeated his action, smashing his lips against hers before pulling back to see her response.

Finally, she swerved her eyes up to him, and blinked.

"…Alucard…?"

He liked the way she said his name, and began caressing the side of her face. If possible, he would like to hold her this way forever; he liked how tame his mate had become when he snaked his arms around that forced, hourglass-shaped waist produced by the tight fitting of the corset; surely she'd be howling and flailing in his arms at other times but now she stayed in his arms obediently and quietly, letting him pet her and stroke her hair. She had this incredibly soft body… she was so warm and he could hold her for hours and never get tired…he had no choice but to suppress a groan when she shifted slightly against him; Ruby was wearing practically almost to nothing at all underneath the skimpy garments…

She pulled away and they gazed at each other for a few seconds; no words were exchanged, they simply stayed in each other's embrace before he lifted his hand to her face again, to trace his fingers over the outline of her cheeks and the bulge of her bottom lip to her jawline; he was caressing her as if this was the first time he'd touched her, although they'd already been intimate at greater levels than this. She watched him, and then she smiled lazily, like a cat, whilst closing her eyes and placed her hand over his. Alucard would be the only one who could touch her as so. She didn't want anyone else to; she wouldn't allow anyone else. Only Alucard.

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed his thick dark hair back and away from his eyes; he was taken aback by the gesture, but he grinned widely again and glanced down at the corset, which made her cringe. She didn't seem to have the words to describe her distaste. Of course…his mate had also been stripped and then forced to wear that silky corset piece, panties and suspenders (which he liked very much but would not say to her face) before being yanked out for display like a cow at a judging contest with a sea of viewers/hopeful bidders that consisted mostly of men…

With another sigh, she grumbled out, "Don't ask."

"I like it."

"Of course you do." Ruby replied, with a gentle roll of her eyes, before she reached behind her and pulled at something then released, and there was a loud, elasticky 'twang!'.

"It is the truth. I like seeing you in silk...And you are not afraid." He said; she winced slightly at the fact that he had annihilated an entire room of vampires and he currently reeked of blood, which he'd just absorbed in seconds into himself.

"…No, I'm… not." She found herself croaking out.

"Good girl."

She felt beyond normal now. "Is everyone here?"

"Yes. My Master has troops securing the island."

"We're on an island?"

"Yes."

"Did you...did you find Dah - I mean, _my parents_?"

"No."

"I...I don't understand what's going on." Ruby cast her glance down, "Alucard, I'm glad you're here, but..." She shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable in his hold; at the same time, the black corset fell down slightly in progress and he stared, unable to take his eyes off the spectacular, seductive choice of lingerie she was adorned in against her will. It was distracting, and they both knew it. The corset barely covered her breasts and instead, pushed them up into view, making her cleavage appear large and deep like a crevasse; it looked easy to rip off too, if he ever found his hand slipping underneath towards the ribbon at the front that was holding the thing together. She made another disgruntled noise and pulled the corset up, then blew some hair from face, before planting her hands on the sides of his cheeks. "…My face is up here."

He tore his eyes away from her chest and glanced up. "Where is my fang?"

"It's probably in that room with my clothes. Let's go. I'm getting cold." She said, but then - "Wait."

He turned to her expectantly.

"T-There's something I need to tell you first…" She began, her voice going dry; she grabbed his large gloved hand and he gazed intriguingly at her little warm fingers splayed over the back of his palm, tracing over the thin fabric. He was always reminded of how much he wanted her even by harmless, little actions like these. She added, in a serious tone of voice which he hadn't really heard her use before, "It's really important and - "

However, she was interrupted by a loud 'boom' and the walls and ground trembled and shook, she lost her footing and stumbled in his arms.

"W-what was that?" She stammered nervously.

"They know we are here."

"But – "

"I need to get you somewhere safe."

She sighed. _Maybe I should get my clothes back first, _she thought, as Alucard hastily swept her off her feet and into his arms, bridal style, before quickly kissing her. When he drew apart, she pouted slightly with those luscious, kissable lips of hers, as though wanting more, and he nuzzled her affectionately, making her giggle. A smile blossomed on her face and he grinned, then reached over again and kissed her forehead.

Alucard could be so sweet to her, that it was beginning to hurt.

* * *

><p>Seras was running through the corridor having been fighting her way through a horde of security vampires and went to a grinding halt as soon as she saw a figure stumbling towards her from the opposite direction. Seras rushed for cover near one of the large plant pots, using its large leaves to hide herself. With her gun readied, she aimed it directly at the figure but then gasped as soon as she glimpsed through the scope lens.<p>

"Mr Morris?"

He looked around; Seras popped up and out from her hiding place and scrambled over to the man. "Mr Morris! It _is_ you!"

"…Seras…" The vampire hunter breathed out in relief; he was covered in blood and dirt and he was holding his stomach; his eyes seemed dilated and his complexion was very pale. "…I'm so glad to see you. This place is insane. I've been fighting ever since I got here. Are you alone? Is Alucard here? Did Integra come? W-Where's Ruby? What about Josh?"

She attempted to calm him down first. "They're fine. Sir Integra's waiting in a helicopter at the Loading bay not too far from here and she's sent troops to secure the island and look for survivors. Master just informed me he's got Ruby and Joshua is fine."

Before he could reply to that, Morris crumpled to the ground and Seras gasped. "Mr Morris?"

He removed his hand which was drenched in blood, revealing a wound in his gut. "…I…I was in the tournament. They capture humans and send them here to participate in a tournament, then they let vampires loose. I managed to escape because I saw the castle in the distance. I thought I might find something here..." He rasped out helplessly.

Seras went to his aid immediately and lifted him back up, "Come on, I'll take you to the helicopter – "

"No, I can't. They…they took the Bowie knife. I get it now, Seras." He clung onto her sleeve, "Listen to me, if they have the kukri knife, _**and**_ the Bowie knife, then they might be planning to – " He groaned and his legs gave way; he fell to the ground again, succumbing to his wound.

"Mr Morris. _You really need help_." She didn't wait for his response; she grabbed his arm and looped it over her shoulders, then began to lead him back out of the winding trail of the corridor back towards the Loading Bay.

"…I'm having a really bad day." Morris grumbled, gazing at his bloodied crowbar.

"Yeah, me too. And Josh."

The pair swiftly escaped through the exit and back outside into fresh air and hopefully, a vampire-free zone. "What is this place anyway?"

"I don't know, Mr Morris. It is an undisclosed location."

"Then how did you find us?"

"Master can track Ruby." Seras replied, as Morris limped alongside her as they made their way towards a gatehouse. On one side of the rocky wall, he peered through the gaps; he could see a vast length of brick palisade that surrounded the castle protectively. The other side, he could see nothing but ocean.

"Are we…?"

"Yeah, we're pretty high up. The castle is built on a mountain next to the ocean." Seras replied, "Don't worry, we're almost there. There's still a bridge we can need to cross, but that won't take long."

A black helicopter loomed into view a distance away on the roof of one of the gatehouses. Morris squinted his eyes; "We're so far away." Morris croaked, as he glanced behind him to see that he was trailing blood. "Can't you ask Integra to come pick us up?"

She shook her head. "It's too risky."

"_Police Girl; Morris_." said a familiar voice behind them, and the two turned round to see Alucard carrying a now fully-dressed Ruby in his arms. Thankfully, she'd found her clothes and Alucard's fang, which had been hidden in her broken pocket of her jacket.

"Master!" Seras exclaimed in relief as the vampire let Ruby down to the ground who was also helped by Seras; now she had two people hanging off her shoulders. "Ruby, are you alright?"

"…My ankle really hurts…" The poor girl whimpered.

Alucard glanced at the wounded. Morris looked as though he wavering between being alive and being dead, and Ruby couldn't even stand up properly… "Morris, are you able to walk?" He questioned, and the vampire hunter nodded. Alucard gave him an acknowledging nod in response and glanced to Seras. "Police Girl, scout the rest of the castle. Morris, you need to leave this place now. Take Ruby with you to the helicopter at the gatehouse. My master is waiting."

Everyone split up following Alucard's commands.

With Morris and Ruby on the way to the helicopter, Integra and the rest of the Hellsing troops securing the peirmeters of the island, and Seras on the hunt for the Bowie knife, Alucard departed by himself to find the man responsible. As he travelled deeper through the twisting maze of the castle, killing vampires along the way, he noticed there had been a party of some sort been held here. And here he was not invited. His search eventually led him to a dead-end in the form of a church in the north wing of the castle, where he was greeted by a lone figure standing beside an altar with a white cloth sprawled over it.

The figure was a vampire; he had a large frame and an equally stern expression to accommodate his size and bulky figure. He was in a black suit, and he said, "Good afternoon, Alucard."

Alucard raised an eyebrow. His voice was surprisingly soft and gentle, contrasting with his intimidating appearance.

"My name is Ermenrich."

"What is your real name?"

"I forgot."

"You must be one of Caelum's men, sent to intercept me."

"I have orders to stay behind."

"And why do you listen to that blundering fool? Is he such an influential, that he has you all wrapped around his little finger?"

"Caelum is not a fool; he is the one who saved us all from that horrid place." Ermen replied stoically, "We are indebted to him, and he treats us well; we reward him with our loyalty, even until the very end."

"I admire how respectful you are. It is something I have come to discover that many young vampires do not have."

"Of course. Caelum taught us to admire you."

Alucard was overcome with precarious laughter by those mere words. "_Admire_? How peculiar. I am being worshipped. You view me as a deity in your eyes…even though in precisely five minutes…I will be ripping your throat apart?"

"I stopped feeling emotion a long time ago, thus, I do not feel fear."

"Why do you hold this tournament?"

"Entertainment purposes, and for population control."

"I see you have no desire to create more vampires."

"Affirmative. We are at the top of the ecological foodchain. The human population are at the bottom, and we are in sufficient number. Any more vampires being created and we may risk the collapse of the foodchain."

"Why don't you tell that to rogue vampires?"

"We have. They don't listen, so we created the vampire bar. Those who still do not comply, we exterminate them."

"I see. You have altered your goals, but you still abide to the basic, underlying principles."

"Incorrect. We do not assist humans _or_ vampires." Ermen said, "And I owe you no more explanations. Shall we begin?"

Alucard smirked in response, "…We've already begun, Ermenrich." And Alucard delved a hand inside the innard of his jacket – immediately, Ermen took his position behind the altar - he pulled away the white cloth to reveal a huge gun that was affixed to the floor - and pulled the trigger. he was not going to wait for Alucard to make the first move, and before Alucard could take out the Casull, a hurdle of machine gun shells slammed into him - the sound of the gun's firing rate was deafening_. BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!_ The machine gun fired fast and furious shots at the vampire who merely stood in the wide open, letting the bullets pummel into his body relentlessly. Ermen continued firing, watching the clip being fed through the gun like a film reel, as empty shells flew out and clattered to the floor.

Once the first clip was over, Ermen glanced at the smoking nozzle over to the opening of the church to see that Alucard was still standing, his head hanging low. His jaw dropped open slightly; the elder vampire was unmoving but still standing, even after all damage!

Ermen watched the vampire sway slightly on what was left of his legs, before he collapsed onto his back in a puddle of blood.

The church fell silent.

He left his spot behind the gun and neared Alucard cautiously, and then -

"_Is that all you have_?"

He gasped when Alucard's eyes re-opened and all of a sudden, Ermen's left arm flew off in a spray of blood and reappeared in Alucard's grip. Smirking wickedly at him as he began to get back up, with shadows and Ermen's blood swirling around him, the No-Life King crushed the ripped limb in his hand, blood and torn flesh dripping to the floor. Ermen hadn't even seen the elder vampire move at all; his speed was startling. As Ermen's arm began to regenerate, Alucard lifted the Casull, his finger curling around the trigger.

"…How disappointing." The No-Life King sneered as Ermen took the brunt of his retaliation, his lips tugging further upwards into a ruthless grin, "A weakling like you has no right to defeat me; _I will destroy you_."

The bulky vampire did not waste any time; he began to rush over to the machine gun but Alucard was faster; he fired a shot from the Casull and the bullet collided with the nozzle of the machine gun just as Ermen pushed down on the trigger; the gun exploded from the impact and Ermen leapt away from the destroyed artillery. "Shit." He cursed, when Alucard fired at him again. He clenched his fists and lifted his arms in front of his face to protect himself and the bullet bounced off him like a rubber cork hitting a wall. Alucard fired another round and a hail of bullets hit off Ermen's chest, having very little effect.

Ermen charged towards him without further ado, the bullets deflecting off him, and with a roar, he threw his fist down at the elder vampire once he got close enough. Alucard dodged, and the punch sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, making the chairs and stands rumble and shake and fall over as though an earthquake had just happened. Ermen pulled his fist back out of the destroyed ground and then lunged in for another assault upon realisation that he had been too slow; and Alucard evaded narrowly another assault that had the juggernaut vampire ripping off a chunk out of the wall, debris and brick flying everywhere.

His strength was something Alucard noted; the bullets not working was another thing. Alucard continued to evade and reloaded a clip with different bullets into the Casull. Since his usual bullets didn't seem to work, perhaps these would…

Alucard pulled the trigger again, and the bullet embedded itself deeply into Ermen's right eye as he went charging. He screamed and stumbled in his pace, clutching his bleeding eye and to follow up, Alucard fired another shot, the bullet ejecting into Ermen's left. Blood splattered onto the wall and he howled, clutching at his bleeding eyes in agony. Blindly, he slowly managed to gather himself to stand, hearing Alucard's chuckle echo around the church hall and he pulled away from his eyes. His eyes resembled nothing but reddish, black holes, having been destroyed in their sockets from the explosive impact of the special bullets. He wiped away the blood dribbling down from the wounds before he stumbled around clumsily, his arms flailing around.

The church went quiet once more.

"Where you at, No-Life King?" Ermen was now roaring, having abandoned his controlled, quiet and stoic demeanour. "Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I can't hear you! _I'LL KILL YOU!_" And he turned to his left, swinging his heavy fist around only to punch another lump out of the wall. He growled as he retreated his tightly fisted knuckles, having missed his target. He felt a presence to his right and slammed his fist towards that direction, only to knock over what appeared to be the candle stand and the cross. He heard something topple to the ground and soon smelt the acrid stench of fire.

"You're far too slow." Alucard's voice taunted him from all around; Ermen turned around and around frantically, trying to pinpoint his voice. "Without your sight, your strength means little."

Ermen came to a stop; Alucard was behind him.  
>But he was too late.<p>

A fist rammed through him, impaling him deeply. The length of Alucard's arm was lodged in his chest, his fingers were sticking out of his back, grasping bits of broken spine and flesh. Ermen's mouth opened to a silent scream, and with a slant smirk forming on the No-Life King's features, he slowly pulled out his arm then grabbed Ermen's throat and he was hoisted into the air, his legs kicking and flailing, and in years, he began simpering and wavering like an injured child, having been unused to anyone overpowering him since…ever.

"N-No!" Ermen was yelling, "You can't!"

"I have." Alucard said with a sneer, "Just like many others, your biggest downfall was that you underestimated me."

"No…" He muttered bitterly, his voice quivering. Emotion seemed to have returned to him, slamming back to him with much brutality and he truly wanted to weep at the face of death.

"You have been a pleasant opponent, Ermen, but you are not enough to defeat me. And you are nothing but Caelum's puppet. You are so miserable…so pitiful, so pathetic." Alucard replied; Ermen let out a fickle gasp as the grip increased on his neck, making him choke and splutter. "…_And this is how I will end you_."

Ermen screamed when Alucard crushed his throat with his fangs.

* * *

><p><em>A room.<em>

_He was in a room._

_And he was sitting on a chair with his chest, his shoulders, and his ankles and wrists tied down by leather straps. The crown of his head was attached to wires and catheters, and a white mask covered his mouth and nose, with holes that left only his eyes exposed. The top of his head was exposed, along with his forehead. His brown eyes darted around shakily, before he caught sight of a man with ash-blonde hair lying on a gurney a distance away, yelling and fighting against his bonds as a crowd of people in white labcoats sliced at his face with sharp tools. He could hear the man screaming and yelling, but his cries were muffled, sloppy, and slurred._

_The voice nearby brought him back to focusing on his current situation and he glanced up at the scientist. __The scientist was holding a scalpel, and a circular saw. _"_Let's see what your brain looks like."_

_The man strapped in began to sweat. A lever was pulled down and the saw began to spark into life, buzzing and whirring loudly. The man began screaming, his fists bundling up so tightly his fingernails dug into his flesh, drawing blood when the spinning blade neared his forehead. He screamed aagain nd tried to jerk free from his bonds, but nothing happened._

_The saw descended down onto his forehead and he roared, when the blade dug into his skull._

_..._

...

_He woke up later to find that he was brought back to his cell. The pain from the lobotomy procedure had knocked him out; it was surprising he wasn't dead yet. Maybe that was why they kept performing lobotomies or other brain procedures on him…because he wouldn't die_._ He rolled out of bed and then felt around his head where he felt the bump of disfigured skin. _

"_You've awoken."_

_He turned round to see a young man, watching him from the top bedbunk… a young man with black hair and red eyes. He looked foreign. European. Not from England, definitely. This young man, this young guy, with his black hair and red eyes, he turned away from him and casually carved a tally mark on the wall with the tip of his nail; the screeching, grinding noises the wall made as it yielded to the sharpness of his nail did not seem to faze him._

"…_Who are you?" He croaked out, surprised he could still speak properly._

"_I'm new here," replied the young man. The strange young man spoke with a northern accent. "You were out for weeks. What do they actually do to you in here?"_

_He scoffed at the young guy. "Have you been to the operating room yet?"_

"_No, all they have been doing is asking me ridiculous questions."_

"…_They want to find out how vampires work. They want to find out how our brains work."_

"_They do this to everyone?"_

"_Just me. See that guy over there?" He pointed to the cell opposite where the same ash-blonde man who was also being operated on the same day as him was lying on the bed with his face bandaged completely in layers upon layers of white fabric that his head was nothing but a globe, spherical shape. The metal plate on the cell said 'Luther'._

"_Yes. What happened to him?"_

"_They tried to find out how we suck blood. They cut his mouth up and pulled out all his teeth, but too many grew back at once, and they grew too fast, so…"_

"_Why did they do that?"_

"_Experiments."_

"_Experiments? That does not make any sense; you're stronger than humans, in fact…we are superior to them in many ways. Humans are weak creatures, and we prey on them. They are our food, but you…you let them push you around and do these things to you? Why? Why do you let this happen?" He demanded, but before he could reply, the young guy sat up in his bed all of a sudden, glaring at him. "…I see. You're scared. You're afraid to kill them."_

"_I don't want to kill."_

"_You're pathetic." The young guy sneered at him in fury, with disdain clearly evident in his tone, "…It is not that hard to kill a man."_

_He went quiet then and stood still and quietly in his spot. The young man sighed and got off the bed and dropped to the floor; he was shorter than him and skinnier and leaner, but his demeanour was enough to make him feel a little nervous. The young guy glanced at him from head to toe, crossed his arms, and said, "…What is your name?"_

"_Ermenrich. What's yours?"_

_The strange young man smiled. _

"_...Caelum." He replied, "My name is Caelum."_

* * *

><p>Alucard could hear clapping.<p>

He stopped drinking and dropped the body, then turned round when the clapping grew louder. A figure in black sidled into the room from the far end of the hall, and came to a gradual stop to stand in front of the stained glass window. Alucard watched him warily; it was the man from the portrait. _Caelum_. He was dressed in a black suit, and he removed his sunglasses, revealing his ruby-red eyes. Only elder vampires had permanent crimson pupils, indicating their old age and the amount of blood they have drunk over the years.

Alucard wiped the blood off his lips and chin and snarled at the man, "The ringleader has finally stepped out from the shadows."

"It's nice to finally meet you, No-Life King." said the man in black.

"Enough talk. I am tired of fighting puppets of yours. They are merely dogs, unleashed from the cage by the owner. You."

He threw his head back and laughed, "My Legion contains the strongest vampires in history and they are all loyal to me."

"So, you cower in the shadows of your men."

"Don't accuse me of cowardice; if I was a coward I would not have confronted you as so."

Alucard threw a glance to Ermen's unmoving body, "Your subordinate was kind enough to show me your past, _Caelum_."

"Then you must have seen what happened at the laboratory. They claimed they were 'working to see a better future'." He said half-heartedly, before he threw his glance to where Ermen had been, "…Dreadful place, really."

"And what did you do to the scientists?"

"I killed them all."

"And then you took over."

Caelum nodded. "That's right. I'm so glad you didn't need me explaining. I took over their corporation and re-established the Order of the Black Flame. I became their leader and commander, their ruler and sovereign."

"But that is not all."

He smirked, "…Yes, I'm the one who manipulated Sloan into opening the vampire bar; we needed someone and Victor was a good choice because of his ambition and determination. We just needed something to spur him on so I sent a vampire to bite his son thirty years ago. I'm the one who killed the Harker's and stole the kukri knife, and I'm also the one who sent Nadia after you and your mate. But this isn't about _me_, this is about _**you**_."

Alucard raised the Casull and fired at Caelum, who did not attempt to evade. The bullet sunk into his face, blowing the top portion of his head off, sparing half of his cheeks and his mouth, and blood and brains sprayed the window and the floor and began to leak over his shoulders, red gunge seeping into the fabric of his suit.

However, Caelum's mouth began to laugh, his lips pulling back widely, and then the mouth spoke, "…You do know that I am almost as old as you?" The body put its hands behind its back and began pacing the floor up and down, seemingly with no intent to regenerate. "Bullets like those will kill those silly, young vampires and other unholy freaks, but they have no effect on me. While many of our kind fear you, I do not."

"Oh?" A grin appeared on Alucard's face. "Perhaps I should enlighten you then."

Caelum's body held its hand up. "You and I have much in common, Alucard. We have a… _mutual _understanding…We don't have to be enemies."

"I have no desire to associate with you. You are not an un-ambitious man…nor do you seem the type that hungers for power or wealth. Why do you do this?"

"Perhaps it's because I want you to know who I am…where I come from…why such a tournament like this exists, and why you and your Master were powerless to stop this from happening. Hundreds of lives have been lost today, surely a crushing loss to the organisation you have pledged your allegiance to."

"Whatever you do for entertainment purposes is none of my concern."

"Then I want you to know why I kidnapped your mate."

"Yes, do tell, before I annihilate you."

He chuckled. "We really are the same, Alucard. We've both had a few undead heartstrings plucked delicately by humans of the opposite sex. I know how it feels."

Alucard listened intently as Caelum continued…

"…Ruby's not like the others. She's different…different than all the women you've had in the past. Something about her makes you want her so badly; you've never felt this way before…and you must own her, body_** and**_ soul. But she keeps refusing you, which makes you want her even more. You can't stop thinking about her, day and night. You can't get to sleep unless you know she's sleeping beside you… You want to touch her… Most importantly…you want her blood. You want to know what it tastes like, what precious memories it holds…"

Caelum stopped to laugh, then stepped backwards into the corner of the room where the light did not reach.

"Trust me, Alucard; you don't want to find out." He muttered, and finally, his flesh began to patch itself and his head returned to normal, his beady red eyes landing on Alucard's form. "You might end up finding something you wish you never knew. You can have all the women in the world, Alucard, but not Ruby. It's not too late to look for another bride, either your master, or that little Police Girl of yours."

"Ruby is the only one I want." Alucard snarled, "If you dare lay a finger on her, _I will tear you apart_."

However, Caelum merely burst into insane laughter at that point. "Yes, yes, yes! That's more like it! Yes, that's more like you! I like that, I like that. Good…" He snickered, "Do you feel it? That sense of threat? That feeling that…something bad is going to happen? Yes, because…well… I know your weakness, but the funny thing is… you don't know mine."

From the inside of his coat, Caelum pulled out what appeared to be a small black box with a button on it. "Just like Mina…" He glanced up at Alucard with a smirk, "Ruby will never be yours_."_

And he pushed down on the button.

Alucard lunged at him - but a figure sprang up and moved in front of Caelum - it was Ermen, who had defended the president with the last ounce of his life and strength, and Alucard found his arm thrusting through the face. Raising an eyebrow as his fist smashed through and out the back of the skull, he retreated his arm and gazed around the church to see that Caelum had vanished, leaving only the loyal subordinate with a gaping hole in his head.

Loyal to the very end, indeed.

* * *

><p>As Morris helped Ruby towards the direction of helicopter, Ruby stared over the castle walls at the ocean below, and gulped. "We're quite high up." She said, as Morris continued hopping towards the direction of the helicopter that was still a distance away, perched on top of the landing pad like a trophy.<p>

However, the two came to a stop when they arrived at the bridge. It was a wooden bridge over the ocean with a flimsy, metal chain railing and Ruby gulped. It was high up. _Very_ high up. "I hope you're not afraid of heights." Morris said, and Ruby shook her head meekly.

"…I…I-I'm fine. Do we have to go this way?"

"It's the quickest." He led her towards the start of the bridge but Ruby began to pale. "I'll go first."

"O-Okay."

Morris took one step onto the bridge and tapped his foot on it several times to ease the girl's fear. "See? It's sturdy enough. Give me your hand, and try not to look down."

She accepted and the two began to make their way slowly over the bridge. Why was the bridge so long? Ruby squinted her eyes ahead; they still had a long distance to cover. She swallowed down and followed Morris meekly, watching the blood spurts he was trailing over the wood. The vampire hunter was losing a lot of blood… he needed to get to a hospital, fast. Soon, they had triumphed over the first half of the bridge and had quite a distance left until the ground beneath them began to shake.

"W-What's going on?" Ruby screamed as she was thrown side to side, holding the railing for support with her eyes squeezed shut, and Morris cursed under his breath.

"Just run!" He grabbed her hand and began making a frantic dash to the end of the bridge while clutching his wound but -

The bridge behind them exploded and as Morris was thrown forwards from the force of the unexpected detonation, time seemed to slow down; his feet left the ground and his body was flying in the air, tossed relentlessly like a ragdoll by the brutal force. The noise was so deafening his ears were brimming with pain and he squeezed his eyes shut to brace for impact. But that was when he heard it; he heard a scream, and as he flew to the ground, his head slamming over ground, the tiny hand in his that belonged to Ruby, he felt it leave his grip. His mouth opened into a strangled gasp; time began to speed up and with widened eyes, he watched helplessly as she followed the destruction of the bridge, saw her plummet down.

He saw her falling in mid-air…he heard her screaming…

…and Ruby disappeared into the deep and dark, thunderous waves below…

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

1. Ermen's dead, which is a bit of a shame cos I didn't develop on his character. In the original version, I wrote about his story but when I re-read it, it didn't contribute to the story so I removed it. Basically, Ermen was born in a feudal-like era and was mentally disabled; he was taken in by an elderly couple who raised him up. One day, a shady man comes into the village who uses Ermen's mental handicap to his advantage and tells Ermen to kill the elderly couple and take their possessions and give them to him – which he does. Realising what he has done, Ermen is approached by a 'witch' who is actually a vampire, and gives him the 'power' to kill the man who conned him into killing his foster parents, ie, she turns him into a vampire. Before Ermen can kill the man however, the man cunningly provokes him and Ermen blacks out. When he wakes up, he realises he has slaughtered his entire village during his rage and the man has actually escaped. Terrified of what he has become, Ermen wanders the earth alone. Decades later, he is captured by Oracle and they perform lobotomies and other brain procedures on him. Gradually, he becomes better and meets Caelum.

2. The Truth about Oracle Corporation. Caelum reveals that Oracle was a corporation/research facility that captured vampires and experimented on them. When Caelum was captured (mentioned in Chapter 23), he ended up meeting Ermen and after he meets Luther, it is revealed in this chapter that he took over Oracle. He killed all the humans and then took over the corporation itself and used it as the Order's HQ.


	26. Leanne Van der Linde

Whoooo! This story has reached 400 reviews?(!) Holy fudge that's seriously awesome. I can't thank you guys enough! :)) Meh those previous chapters really took a lot out of me. I'd never done so much plot-related stuff in a row. I tried so hard but i must have put you guys to sleep :( Well, no worries because everything is back to normal now. There were also lots of mistakes in the previous chapter too and I apologise, I did go back and edited it... still...I'm getting sloppy!

**WARNING:** Lemon. Yep, we're back to the lemony things which means Alucard's back to being a perv. He just can't seem to control himself in this story.

* * *

><p><em>Leanne Van der Linde (aka <em>_Return to Bal'allan)_

Alucard returned to the village of Bal'allan.

Five days ago, and his mate was lost to him. Ruby fell off the bridge after it detonated and broke apart; she was never found, presumed dead. Her parents had gone missing. Morris was hospitalised in intensive care. Joshua was still recovering. The missing people all over Britain were found at the tournament but most were dead, or had been turned to Ghouls; when Hellsing's backup arrived, they spent the rest of the time cleaning up the newly-abandoned island and exterminating the newly-formed Ghouls that had been victims of a domino effect. Morris' Bowie knife was also missing.

He knew Ruby would be a target yet this happened.

He let it happen. He put her into the hands of Morris and this happened. Not that it was Morris' fault but Alucard believed he should have brought Ruby to safe hands himself. It was too late now. Reciting that fact over and over again in his mind, he'd withdrawn into an unhealthy slump, reverted back to his animalistic, predator ways that Integra and Walter were seen slathering runes with white paint on his basement door and walls, prohibiting means of exit while his rage overwhelmed him.

Then - he did not know how long has passed since but it felt like an eternity - he suddenly jerked out of a hazy sleep and sat up in his lonely throne with blood streaming down his face from the corner of his eyes, staring at the table on the ground which he'd destroyed and the smashed bottle of wine and the accompanying wine glasses.

He had picked up her scent. Now he found himself in Bal'allan.

Her scent came from there. Her scent simply re-appeared all of a sudden from nowhere, mysteriously and calmly but faintly, like a star in the deepest, darkest night; the odds of such an event were identical to finding a needle in a haystack. It was unmistakable…Of course it was…he'd been around Ruby long enough to become used to her scent.

And when he finally arrived at the village he visited not too long ago...

...things were a little…_different_.

The humans were out, working, talking and shopping, and even _greeting_ him, not in Gaelic. He strolled through the village, watching the villagers bustle around. It wasn't like this current state a few days ago; he remembered when Seward and his fledging visited the village. People were terrified of them, or perhaps it was because they arrived at the village at night and no-one went out.

His master granted him permission to leave the mansion; by the time Ruby's scent resurfaced, everything seemed to have toned down and things were slowly returning back to normal, or what 'normal' is as normal was; Integra had relentlessly dealt with the Knights of the Round and their firing, probing questions, then she had to deal with the Commissioner and summarise a report of Hellsing's findings at the island. There were no bodies to be collected; all the missing people were to be remained missing forever, a white lie that would, in fact, harm many. Furthermore, she had to plan Hellsing's next move; Integra began researching corporations that experimented on vampires - she was startled to find at least a hundred or more on her database. At least it didn't appear as though the vampire Knights were going to launch an attack or any other form of devastating assault, since days had passed quietly and quickly. Perhaps they were recovering, too.

"_I will allow you to investigate the village once more_." She had said, as generous as his master could be at rare moments, "_Then you are to return to the manor immediately after twenty four hours, and no more_."

There was a lot to accomplish in twenty four hours.

Alucard moved past the village square and the surrounding amenity shops towards the Village hall, and pushed open the doors.

An old man was at the far end, sitting behind a wooden desk. Alucard assumed him to be the village elder, a representative… perhaps the mayor. The elder had a long, grey beard, his eyes hidden behind thick, bushy eyebrows that resembled hedgerows. The old man stopped smoking his withered oak pipe and looked up once Alucard approached him.

"May I help you, sir?"

"This girl," Alucard placed down the only photo of Ruby he had in his possession (which he took, not _stole_, from her room. He thought she looked pretty so decided to keep it for himself. He had never exactly noticed it before but he realised that he liked looking at his mate a lot. She made him...calm). In the picture, she was standing in a field of red flowers in a sundress with an ice cream in hand and straw hat. "Have you seen her?"

The old man picked up the photo and scrutinised the laminated, glossy print of Alucard's mate thoroughly. Then, he put down his pipe, and looked up at Alucard. "Yeeeeees." The elder finally said, in a long, indolent drawl, "Yes I have. Hm, you look like a fine chap from the city. We don't always get city folk here. Are you a tourist?"

"No." He had donned his human disguise consisting of a dapper and black, double-breasted jacket and sunglasses for he knew the villagers would recognise him from his previous excursion. "I am looking for my fiancée._ Where is she_?"

"…Oh. Yes, I have seen this girl." The old man uttered, rubbing at his chin behind the bushel of his thick, curly and hoary, slate beard. He sighed heartily, then glanced up at Alucard tiredly once more, "Dr Rosenthal's looking after her at the moment, the poor thing. You'll find him at his Clinic."

Alucard's fist clinched so tightly his knuckles crackled under his gloves, his bones grinding irately against each other. To even think that another male may have touched his mate made his blood boil.

* * *

><p>His name was Mordecai Rosenthal and he worked and lived in the Clinic that was in his family's name; intel gathered from gossiping washing ladies at the local watering hole informed him that it was Anthony Rosenthal's estranged little brother who was taking care of it now, and if Alucard remembered correctly, it was a clinic that once belonged to Anthony Rosenthal, who was also the fiancé of Emilia – the couple who infamously warned Hellsing of a vampire clan in the mountains - and then one of their daughters were stolen away, never to be seen again. Earnestly, it was something worth looking into.<p>

The clinic was a large, two-storey building that was situated near the sea front where oceanwaves swept across the dusty sand shore in lazy, gentle lulls. No wonder Rosenthal would come across his mate; he found a girl washed ashore at the beach three days ago. Alucard ground his teeth in fury when he trudged up to the door. The human male named Mordecai Rosenthal was apparently single, and a hardworker, contributing to the village by looking after the health of the rest of the villagers by his lonesome.

Alucard stood at the white door of the clinic, his fist curling again at the mere thought of his mate being with another man, then tried the doorknob which was suprisingly locked. He rapped loudly on the door then. Human manners of the modern century…He never quite understood them. Even his master preferred it if he knocked although he always appeared unannounced, usually from the painting 'Storm of the Sea of Galilee' on the wall.

The clinic door opened, and there stood a human male, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes and a rugged chin with stubble. He was in a dark blue shirt with an olive-green tie with sweetcorn patterns; he was a rather frail-looking man, in his late thirties, at least. A pinned badge on his pocket said _'Mordecai Rosenthal'_. The human glanced up at Alucard from head to toe; Rosenthal was a fraction shorter and slightly hunchbacked. Alucard briefly remembered he once had a servant with a demeanour like this man; he was always ridiculed by the other servants and deemed suspicious and untrustworthy.

"Do you have an appointment, sir?"

"Where is she?" Alucard demanded abruptly. "You found a girl three days ago; I want to see her."

"Oh, you mean Leanne?"

Leanne? Alucard grabbed the man named Mordecai Rosenthal by the front of his shirt that his feet left the ground. "**Where is she**?"

"P-please, sir, don't harm me – "

"Doctor? What's going on?" The sound of the familiar voice was enough to make Alucard drop the human male and glance up as a figure came into view.

_Ruby._

At first, he contemplated if this was reality. But there she was, with a bandage around her head, and holding a…a cane(?) with a wooden duck-shaped head as the handle. She was dressed in a plain t-shirt, half-buttoned blouse and denims, but never had she looked so beautiful and wonderful, standing there, watching him with a curious expression on her face…He missed her…_He missed her_…her plush pink lips…those thick, long eyelashes…her big, innocent, blue eyes…he missed her so much…

"Ruby..." Alucard breathed, before he pushed Rosenthal to the side and marched into the clinic, his huge frame filled the tiny doorway as he stormed up to her. She stared at him wordlessly and when he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her into his chest, she began flailing around uncomfortably.

Rosenthal rushed to her immediately and she pulled away from Alucard, then hid behind the doctor. "W-What's going on? Who is he, Doctor?" She squeaked, "A patient of yours?"

The doctor turned to Alucard, his arms out in front of the girl protectively. "I'm terribly sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I have to tell you to leave."

"Silence." Alucard growled at him, "I have come for Ruby."

The doctor whimpered, then turned to the girl, and back at the glowering vampire. "…Would you mind telling us who you are, sir?" He asked meekly, "I would appreciate it, if you _are _here for Leanne."

Alucard's anger reached boiling point. The desire to rip Rosenthal's arms off surmounted. However, he managed to repress his murderous tendencies and grunted out, "I am her fiancé."

"F-FIANCE?" Rosenthal and the girl stuttered out in unison.

The way how she looked so shocked and terrified made him sick. What had happened? Why could she not seem to remember Alucard? Did she hit her head? It would explain the bandage on her head… He needed to find out more.

"O-Okay, okay! Let's not get hasty now…Let's sit down and talk about this…Leanne, why don't you go back to your room?" Rosenthal scooted over to shut the front door, then he ushered Alucard to sit on a chair in the waiting room that was adjoined to reception. The vampire eyed the girl longingly as Rosenthal gestured to the seat.

He did not sit; though Rosenthal sat down opposite as the girl limped away towards the staircase and began hobbling up the stairs. Alucard's eyes trained on her form the entire way. She threw a quick glance over her shoulders, and caught him staring at her. She thought he'd look away, but he didn't; instead, he gazed at her persistently. Their eyes met and they stared at one another for what seemed to be eternity, then, she flushed and turned back to her front, hopped onto the top stair, and then disappeared from view.

The two men sat downstairs, hearing a door slam somewhere upstairs.

Mordecai Rosenthal hurried into the reception desk and pulled out a Styrofoam cup from the shelf, "E-Er…Would you like a drink first, Mr…Mr…?"

"Brenner."

" - Mr Brenner?"

"No."

"Oh, but you must. I insist. You must have travelled far. We don't get a lot of visitors. It's the least I can do."

If he refused a drink, this man might get suspicious of him, and he needed to hear what this man had to say. No human casualties, his Master warned him, and she had even forbidden him to use his hypnotism much to his chagrin. Before he could say anything, Doctor Rosenthal poured him some water. He came back and handed it to Alucard, who glanced at the cup. Rosenthal gestured to him to drink; without looking away from the doctor, Alucard lifted the cup and downed the contents quickly in a second, the liquid sloshing down his gullet. He hadn't had a liquid that was not of a human (see: _vampire_ and _blood_) for so long that the taste was strange. It even smelt strange, too.

"Mr Brenner, I apologise about Leanne …" Rosenthal began worriedly as he hastily took the cup from the vampire, "Wait – You say you're Leanne's fiancé?"

"Her name is _Ruby_." He handed him the photo; the man accepted it and glanced at the picture.

"…Ruby?"

"Yes." Alucard snarled at him, as he retreated the prized photo back into the innards of his coat, "And she is _mine_."

The doctor suddenly felt very small and tiny as Alucard continued to glare at him. "O-Oh, I see."

"When did you find her?"

"U-Um, I always go swimming every morning before I open the clinic," Rosenthal stammered. "And a few days ago… three, I think, I found somebody washed ashore, just there – " He pointed outside the window to the beach. "It was a girl. I took her back here and she woke up later that day. She was terrified of me, and she…well, you saw, she has a permanent limp; she needs a cane to walk. She was really upset that she couldn't walk. I took her to see the Village Elder; he said she should live with me for a while until someone came for her. She is also extremely knowledgeable on basic medicinal procedure. Dare I say it…she could have been a nurse."

"What was she found with?"

"Found with? Um…oh, yeah, she had this…er…well, it looked like a tooth, actually. Some weird, white...marble piece, like an antique or a fossil of some sort. She wouldn't let go it no matter what." The doctor said, and Alucard sat up abruptly. Rosenthal blinked at him inquisitively, "Uh…Mr Brenner, sir?"

"I need to speak to her in private."

"Private? O-Of course, her room's upstairs to the right." And Rosenthal waited patiently downstairs, watching Alucard trudge towards upstairs. Inwardly, he wondered if he had done the right thing. He decided to wait for five minutes, then he would go up to check. Throwing a quick glance to the styrofoam cup the vampire had drunk from, a smirk tugged on his lips...

* * *

><p>Alucard stormed up the stairs but stopped when he heard a little voice calling out to him.<p>

"_Psst. Over here_."

He turned to the left to see the girl poking her head out of an ajar door in the corridor, beckoning him over. He followed her and into the room – it was hers - where she gestured for him to sit down beside her on the small sofa inside. He raised an eyebrow and sat down, taking up the majority of seat space while she was crammed at the very edge, watching her with a packet of cookies and a small bottle of milk in hand. She said, "Let's talk more in here. What's your name?"

"Brenner."

"No offense, but you don't look like one; you know, a _Brenner_."

"And what would a 'Brenner' look like?"

"Umm…like some old, fat and balding guy with a beer tummy and crooked teeth."

"So you are suggesting I am using a false alias."

"Right you are, Mr B." She replied, then she added, "…You're as white as a sheet. Are you feeling unwell? I can take your pulse for you, if you'd like."

Following that, he deliberately thrust his arm for her to take. She blinked slowly, then swallowed down slightly and took his large hand in hers, then pushed up the sleeve of his coat and pulled down the rim of his glove to reveal his wrist. She applied two fingers over his wrist, and he waited. At first, her eyebrow rose. One eye twitched. Then her expression scrunched up and she looked up at him questioningly. She cleared her throat then shifted herself comfortably so she was facing him directly, and tried to take his pulse again. The same thing happened; her eyebrow rising, eye twitching…

Finally, she said, "Um…either I'm not doing this right, but…it… it appears you don't have a…" She left her sentence trailing; he seized the opportunity that she was holding his hand to lash out and clasp hers in return, forcing a gasp from her lips. "What are you – "

"Neither of those matter. Leave this dismal place and come with me."

"…And you're saying this because you're my… "

"_Fiancé_." He barked, and she cringed slightly. "You are appalled I am your fiancé?"

"No, I mean, you're a very fine guy, I – oops…" She began spluttering to correct herself but this only caused his smirk to widen. "Just how old are you?"

"I am older than you."

"I didn't think I would like older men…like…really, really older men."

"Apparently you do."

"If you're my fiancé, then why do you call me _Ruby_?"

"Because that is your name."

"No it's not, it's Leanne."

"Then you have provided me with a false alias."

"Why would I do that, Mr B.?"

"Enlighten me."

"…And what is it you want exactly?"

"You."

She made a noise, then turned to glance at her walking cane in hand. "Do you like my cane? It's got a duck carved on it. I like ducks." Then she decided to open the packet of cookies, plucked one out and rammed it into her mouth, "Do you want a cookie? These are really good."

"Don't try and change the subject."

He watched her munch and nibble on the cookie with a bemused expression on his face. "Mmmm, triple chocolate chip." She said dreamily, and began drooling, clearly ignoring him, "You sure you don't want any? You're missing out, Mr B."

"Yes, I am sure."

"Hmm, I wonder what cartoons are on TV." She grabbed the remote and switched on the small TV opposite them on a little cabinet. She flicked through various channels, coming to a stop to a wretched show about some humanoid woodpecker with an irritating laugh.

He watched her as she put the milk bottle to her lips and started drinking, then lowered it back down after letting out a refreshing 'Ahhh'; he smirked when he realised she had milk over her top lip. "Leanne." He said, and she turned to him. He took hold of both sides of her face before he began brushing cookie crumbs from her mouth, then leaned in close to lick off the milk from her top lip. Her eyes widened promptly and she pushed him away arms-length.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed in shock, and she began to back away from him on the sofa although this only caused him to advance towards her.

Alucard chuckled and removed his glasses, "Frankly speaking, I am losing my patience. I will not have you ignoring me. Now, tell me, my dear," He began, as he began to crawl towards her with a widening grin on his handsome face while she inched backwards, "You do not recognise me at all?"

"N-No." She lied as she slipped off the sofa to stand before placing down her milk and cookies to the side. The truth was, when she saw him burst through the doorway downstairs, hulking towards her with those sultry, deep crimson eyes burning on her, there was a little flicker in the back of her mind. She'd seen him somewhere, she thought. Yes, she'd seen a tall, dark and sexy man with broad shoulders and black hair before _somewhere_. She just couldn't remember when and where.

"_Ruby_," Alucard followed her off the sofa to stand behind her, but she seemed unresponsive to the name and shook her head. "_Ruby_." He insisted. "Your name is Ruby and you are my fiancée."

"I'm nobody's fiancée!" She stepped away from him, clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head. "Why are you so…so persistent?"

"Of course I am persistent." He barked, "_I get what I want_."

Her eye twitched again. "Well, I was found washed ashore on a beach, injured and crippled. If you haven't noticed, I can't walk properly! I don't know what happened to me but certainly it wasn't good and I'm happy here. You should go back to where you came from!"

Anger clouded him; he stormed up to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her close to him in seconds. She immediately inhaled a breath when their noses almost touched. "I thought you were lost to me, forever. I grieved night and day. And now I have found you, my bride, you cannot remember me?"

"It's not my fault I don't remember you!" She flinched under his booming tone, "- Y-You've got the wrong person. I don't know you."

"No, the clothes you were wearing the day you went missing are here, too." He said, gesturing to the folded clothes atop the stool but she shook her head defiantly once more, which annoyed him to no end. "Where is it?"

"What?"

"My_ fang_."

She gasped. "...I-I don't know what you're talking about…"

His eyes trailed down to her neckline and bust; she blushed, and turned away to pull her shirt tighter to herself, but he had seen a thin black string looped around her neck. He plucked her hand off the front of her shirt, then pulled the material apart to reveal the fang that was hanging around her neck similar to a pendant, attached to a piece of black string. He reached near her cleavage and pulled the fang out, making her flush furiously.

"The human said you wouldn't stop clutching it." He growled, holding the fang up in his hand and she watched it dangle off the string. "My fang was my gift to you. It was to show how much you mean to me." He hissed as he grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him.

The girl stared back at him, trembling. Before she could protest, he pressed his lips against hers deeply and her eyes widened, then she began to resist, wriggle and flail, but he held her in the cage of his arms like a vice and continued to massage her lips with his own. Yes... he recognised the scent. It was Ruby's scent. This girl was without a doubt **her**. Yes, indeed. He didn't know how she lost her memory or where this Leanne identity came from, but all he knew was that she was his and he had finally found her.

She fought him and his affections relentlessly, but still he did not release her; instead, his arm moved down and he groped her backside sensually, hearing her surprised, but muffled gasps. When his hands dropped to the back of her thighs, he soon found her succumbing to him with a moan as his hands continued to knead into her thighs, knowing all too well it was her weak spot, and he loosened his grip around her when she seemed to have ceased her futile struggle.

"Stop it!" She simpered out, "M-Mr Brenner, control yourself!"

"Why? You do not feel pleasure?" He purred, as he reached for her hand and grabbed it, then forced her palm over his groin area, causing her to squeak out a horrified gasp, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. "_I am yours_," Alucard growled as he made her hand drag over his length, much to her horror, and embarrassment, "_And you are mine_."

She blushed and turned her head away, but he let go of her hand to grab her face and pushed his lips against hers again, kissing her passionately. However, she did not spring away from him after a few minutes, and her arms suddenly found their way to drape around his neck. It took her long enough to give in to him. Even when she was amnesiac she was quite a challenge. "…W-who are you…?" She gasped in between his sweltering kisses as he caressed her unremittingly. Her eyes closed as he focused on kissing and nibbling at the contours of her mouth. "I feel as though you've done this to me before."

"Of course I have. Many times."

She flushed in response, then unintentionally moaned against his lips with sweet surrender, "Oh my, what's going on? I'm so warm..."

He forced her backwards and she went crashing onto the vanity desk behind her; in one quick motion, he scooped her up amidst his passionate frenzy, lifting her to sit on top. She hurriedly brushed away the mirror and other objects that had been on the desk surface and onto the floor to wrap her legs around his waist and their lips found each other again. They kissed frantically, their bodies pressed tightly against each other; Alucard's hand swam under her shirt, his lithe fingers skimming up and over her back and the curve of her waist before diving into the hem of her jeans and into her underwear, cupping her buttocks. She squeaked but her reaction did not deter him, only to have the opposite effect.

In a matter of seconds, her jeans were suddenly undone to her ankles and he removed his glove quickly by biting it and abandoning it to the side. His hand cupped her womanhood, forcing an estranged gasp from the back of her throat. He suppressed a groan when he found that she was lusciously wet for him already, and he deliberately rubbed against her playfully. As she fought to regain her breath, he worked his fingers over her silken flesh, pushing apart those wet, slick folds to stick two fingers in, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly at how uncomfortable the intrusion was. A few eager strokes later and she was moaning.

"O-Oh..." She whimpered breathlessly, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.

He threw a quick glance at her, enjoying how he had reduced her to a wincing puddle, as his fingers circled and teased her relentlessly. She was tight, clenching around him like a fist, but surprisingly she relaxed easily and seeing her writhe and emit those encouraging moans was enough to make him smirk; she even began panting loudly as he continued to tend to her slowly. However, he didn't want her to enjoy herself to the fullest before he could, and withdrew his fingers and she finally opened her eyes, gasping. Shortly after, he was beginning to remove her shirt.

"What are you doing?" She said, blinking thoroughly; she had been lured into the false security that it was over.

"You said you were warm." His hands landed on her breasts that were pushed up against his chest, then dipped his head down and worked his lips over her exposed flesh, his hands returning under her top to enclose around her small waist, and he found her moaning ardently for his touch, arching herself against him as she trailed her hands over his muscular back and wide shoulders, feeling his thick, hard muscles tighten and relax under her fingertips.

He withdrew his slick, hot tongue away from the top of her breasts to slip his tongue through her parted lips and into her mouth, and she moaned once more, grabbing fistfuls of his hair in her hands to yank him closer to her. Withdrawing from her mouth once more, he manouevred his lips to linger by her ear, nibbling at her lobe sensually, and she began to trace her fingers over his striking features. His eyes were chillingly hypnotic, deep, mirthless pools of crimson and she fought hard not to lose herself in them; his hair wild and untamed like the mane of a great stallion. He was so beautiful, so hauntingly exquisite, so extraordinary that she knew he was not a regular man. His name could simply not be Brenner.

Then...what was his name? Why could she not seem to remember?

"_The bed_." Those devilish lips of his whispered into her ear before they widened into a grin, and she re-opened her eyes.

"What about the bed?"

His mind was darkening, becoming tainted with lust. He needed to check if she was still a virgin. How the hell was he going to do that? He could always just ask. "That doctor; he didn't…do anything to you, did he?"

She seemed to have caught onto his drift. "Oh, no, Dr Rosenthal's nice, but he didn't do any of the sort, Mr B."

He trusted her immediately. He did not know why; for all he knew, he'd always trusted his mate. She'd always been honest and faithful and then he realised – she had never looked at another male before or mentioned another male to his face. But what if he was wrong about her now? Alucard quickly lifted her off the desk and tossed her onto the awaiting bed. He briefly remembered he'd said he would wait for her to tell him if she wanted to truly become his or not. He abandoned that memory and promise with no remorse and decided he'd turn her into a draculina _**now**_. She blinked up at him enquiringly as he clambered on top of her, watching her the entire time with his smouldering crimson eyes that were watching her possessively, almost hungrily.

Her eyes broadened in response as soon as he shrugged his jacket off and began unbuttoning his waistcoat, leaving himself in his shirt and cravat. "Whoa, hold your horses, B – " She was interrupted when he reached down and kissed her again, stealing her breath away. She responded keenly with a mewl, and when he began to pull her shirt over her head, she couldn't seem to bring herself to resist.

"I must have you. Your virginity belongs to me." He snarled against her skin, making her flush. She moaned in response, her eyes fluttering closed.

_I feel as though I know Mr Brenner from somewhere, __No...that's not his name...__Begins with a...__a...__A? __A...then what? A...Alu.. Alu what? _While she pondered his name, he buried his face into her neck, claiming her skin with his hot, wet lips as his fangs lengthened but then...

"Leanne! Is everything al – "

Alucard drew away immediately with a hiss, glowering at the intruder.

The doctor. That goddamned doctor…

…just had to ruin…_everything_!

His fangs retracted to their usual length as quickly as they could.

She pulled away from Alucard and glanced over his shoulder to see the doctor at the door. The man gawked at the couple locked in intimate embrace on the bed with his jaw hanging. "Dr Rosenthal!" She exclaimed as she tried to find something to cover herself - Alucard would have to do for now – and she clutched onto him, her arms wrapping around his broad shoulders.

The doctor averted his gaze away from the two. "S..sorry, I-I heard noises…I…I thought – "

"_Get out._" Alucard merely snarled, and it was enough to make the two humans flinch; Rosenthal quickly turned the other way and scampered out the room, slamming the door shut behind him quickly.

An awful silence engulfed the pair in the room.

"Oh my god." She croaked out. Breathing heavily, she watched the closed door and then quickly let go of Alucard and wiggled out from his lap as he remained still. She rarely knew this man…this hot, sexy man…and already she was half-naked and he was touching her and kissing her and they were in bed and then Dr Rosenthal had to barge in, too.

"…I-I'm sorry." She mumbled, as she hastily pulled her shirt back on and tidied her hair, before she hid her face in her hands, "I don't know what I was thinking. That was so embarrassing."

Alucard gazed at her intently, "Why? You rightfully belong to me. We are to mate regardless; it is inevitable. That male is no-one you need to concern yourself with."

To his accumulating dismay, she slipped off the bed; he watched her reach for her walking stick that had been discarded to the floor and began tottering towards the door, limping. Each step she took seemed to be difficult for her, and he was growing disconsolate that she had become like this. She was so young but already she needed a cane to walk and support herself. She said, "You don't understand, Mr B. The doctor is kind to me."

He stopped by the door and stood beside her. "You have feelings for him?" He could not control himself, but his words came out as a low growl as he contemplated. If she did have feelings, he'd rip Mordecai Rosenthal apart.

"No, he saved my life. I am indebted to him."

He'd still rip Mordecai Rosenthal apart. "Then he has feelings for you." Alucard stated, following her as she then limped away from the door to the other end of the room to gaze out of the window desolately, staring at the soothing ocean outside. He stopped behind her again and wrapped his arms around her tightly, spooning her into his chest snugly, "Whatever feelings he has, it does not concern you and you need not reciprocate or oblige in any way; leave him, and come with me."

Suddenly, she clasped a hand over her mouth and coughed. To his astonishment, blood began seeping through the slits of her fingers. Immediately, he drew away her palm and she glanced up. "W...What - "

"You're coughing blood."

"I-I'm fine."

"You can't stay on this island. You must come with me and get proper treatment."

She swallowed down shakily, "…W-Where to?"

"To Hellsing."

"…Hell…sing? What's that? Sounds like a raunchy nightclub."

"You have a home. And you were with me."

"Was I…happy?"

He wanted to roar in frustration at her stupid, fuddled question; he wanted to punch something, to throw something, to break something; most preferably, the wall or TV would have been his choice, but if she saw his violent streak, she might be scared and run away which he didn't want. No, he didn't want her fleeing from him again.

"You are my mate and I..." What would be the right thing to say? "I love you."

"...okay."

Okay? OKAY? His fist clenched and he turned her round to face him; he might as well start professing his 'undying love' for her now. It was a good cue. "I love you, _and you love me, too_." Although... she never said it to him before, he could_ feel _it. He grasped her chin without further ado and drew her in for a kiss; she melted like butter against him when their lips meshed together. When he pulled away, he added, "Come with me."

She stared at him. And a few seconds later, she let out a long sigh, then said, "Can we really just leave like this, Mr B?"

"Yes." He assured with a grin, elated that she had said such a thing. It meant she was contemplating leaving with him, which was a good sign. "We must leave now."

She nodded. "Sure. For some reason, I…trust you. Wow, that sounded a lot better in my head than coming out from my mouth."

Nevertheless, he lifted her face up to him and his lips softly massaged the curve of her cheek lovingly. She mustered a small smile at him, and she hauled his abandoned jacket and handed it to him; he caught the garment in his hand and began to re-dress but all of a sudden, his vision blurred and he let go of her, before doubling over his front near the bed, his fist grasping at the bedsheets. He felt as though he was on fire, his head…as though it was being split open, pried apart with a crowbar.

She was at his side immediately. "B, what's wrong?"

He didn't know. It felt as though something was tearing him apart from inside. This had never happened before…not this kind of pain…not since his defeat at the hands of Abraham Van Helsing. Not since…ever. No...this was impossible. He hadn't felt pain for a long time. This was..._This couldn't be happening..._

"Mr B!"

He couldn't find himself responding; his mouth moved, but no words come out, nothing. The pain was excruciating; he grabbed onto her arm tightly, his fist was a claw on her limb, digging into the length of her small arm and she gasped as his fingers tightened harshly; she gave a cry of protest by the amount of force he'd applied but he couldn't afford to lose her again.

"Doctor, help! I need help!" She was yelling, trying to jerk free from his iron grip as she noticed that his breathing had become heavy, laboured…almost as though it was excruciating to breathe. Although she had pre-first aid experience, it all flew from her mind, leaving her scared and witless as Alucard tried to stand, only to collapse to the floor on one knee. "Mr Brenner, are you alright? What's happening? B? Don't scare me, B!"

And then the door slammed open unexpectedly once more; Dr Rosenthal had returned. "What's wrong, Leanne?" He exclaimed, throwing his glance from the girl to the stricken vampire on the floor.

"Doctor!" She was squawking loudly, helplessly, wrapping her arms around his head to cradle him; she brushed his hair back and put a hand to Alucard's forehead to realise he was breaking into a cold sweat. "Help! I-I don't know what's wrong with him!"

Alucard's eyes began to close as Dr Rosenthal neared them. But something was wrong. The doctor's expression upturned, from surprise and shock to undeniable, twisted glee, his eyes dancing with delight. He was grinning, and in his arms, he protruded out a syringe from the innards of his white coat.

"Doctor, what are you doing?"

"He'll be fine - He's a _vampire_!"

"What?"

"Hold him down for me, Leanne."

"Are you crazy? What are you saying?"

Those were the last words he heard before he blacked out.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes<strong>

1. Honestly I think it's OOC that this is happening to Alucard. As if he'd let that ever happen to him, yesh? But for story's sake it kinda has to :( If you are wondering what happened, the drink Rosenthal gave him earlier on had druggies.

2. The girl in this chapter IS Ruby. Ruby is Leanne and vice versa so Alucard wasn't doing all those to a complete stranger; at the mo, it's complicated because the truth is not out yet, but she has reverted back to her real name and she doesn't remember being Ruby. When she is Leanne, she is more childish and down to earth, and maybe even a little nicer to Alucard(?). In Chapter 23, a missing girl called Leanne Van der Linde was mentioned; her parents were killed when she was 2 and their house was set on fire. Why was she coughing blood? Well, she did fall off an exploding bridge, she's not okay.

3. There will be more about The Truth in later chapters. I'm only saying this because...Oh My Alucard is almost finished! Yep, that's right. We're nearing the end!

For now, sit back, enjoy the Things-That-Make-You-Go-Hmmm, and review :)


	27. The Truth

Thanks for the reviews and i hope you enjoy this chapter. And just a quick note - I know this chapter is called 'The Truth', but it might also apply to more chapters later on.

**WARNING:** Lemony stuff, violence

* * *

><p><em>The Truth<em>

Alucard woke up, with stakes lodged into his chest.

Normally, these silly wooden toothpicks had no effect on him; their effect were identical to pins on skin, but he was overcome with agony. It was almost like the time that Judas Priest slammed two bayonets into him during their first meeting in Ireland. Not only was this experience new, but he realised he was also lying beside someone.

…_Ruby?_

She was lying to his right, her eyes closed. Throwing his fist to grasp one stake, he eased it out of his flesh, one after the another, grunting the entire time whilst discarding each carelessly to the side. There were at least ten. By the time the last stake was removed, he was breathing heavily and he rolled over to his mate and inspected her briefly, before burying his face into her chest, exhausted.

After a few seconds, he forced himself off her, but she did not stir. Her eyes were still closed and he pressed his ear against her chest to make sure her heart was still beating…

"Don't worry, she's alive. I just knocked her out, that's all. I couldn't possibly kill her now, no. Not when I finally have such a fine specimen in my grasp."

And there stood Mordecai Rosenthal, gazing at the two with a clipboard in hand. Alucard glanced up to inspect his surroundings more carefully; he was in a cell - a box-shaped brick-walled room with iron bars, like a jail cell, which sickened and disgusted him.

"Specimen has woken up." The doctor murmured, writing in his notepad with a blunt pencil.

"You – " Alucard stopped when he realised he felt…odd. He was warm, oddly energetic, inexplicably excited, feverish…maybe even a little achy. He cast his gaze over to the unconscious girl who was lying underneath him in the cell they were locked in and shuddered when she let out a piteous moan under her breath. She rolled from her side and onto her front, where he could see that the flimsy shirt she had been wearing was unbuttoned to a large extent and revealing an ample view of her chest and the strap of her bra. Alucard groaned and turned his head away from the sight.

Outside their cell, Dr Rosenthal said, "Just to let you know, I've injected you with a powerful vampire aphrodisiac… Since earlier on, you seemed to show an intense interest in my lovely assistant. If you don't mind, I'd like to monitor your responses. If you ever do engage in coitus with her, I'd like to see what happens."

What? Had he heard right? The goddamned human had injected him with a drug and was now waiting for them to mate? He felt insulted he'd allowed such a thing to happen. When did he even consume something that would stifle his defences and knock him out? Hell, what on earth _was_ strong enough to knock him out in the first place? It was then he recalled accepting a drink of water from the doctor earlier on.

"What did you put in the drink?" He demanded consequently.

"Oh, nothing really…just a drug that's got a kick strong enough to make ten elephants fall over like dominoes. It hits your immune system when you don't expect it." Rosenthal explained cheerfully.

He should have known there was something odd about this doctor. There were all sorts of people out there who wanted to bring harm to him and his mate and this man was no exception. "Who are you."

"I am a doctor." Rosenthal replied, adjusting his spectacles, "But I have been investigating vampires after the Hellsing group came here years ago. At first, I did not believe vampires existed until one was brought down from the mountains and led away."

"_Led away_." Alucard repeated.

"Yes. They came in a white van and this group of men went up the mountain, then came down with this young man in tow and drove off with him. Apparently the man was a bloodsucking monster. But he was so ordinary looking…he was just a man!" He exclaimed loudly. Cradling his hands, Rosenthal's voice went softer, "…Nobody talks about it anymore…no, not after they found out the vampire raped my sister-in-law. They cast her out like a leper."

Raped? Emilia Rosenthal was…_raped?_ Alucard raised an eyebrow.

Mordecai seemed eager to talk despite Alucard's silence. "…She came to me one day, sobbing. '_I've got a vampire's baby_!' She wept, '_Get rid of it, please_!' Of course… she only came to me because I was the only one she could turn to, knowing that…well, I've never performed abortions before, only minor surgeries."

"What did you do?"

He shrugged. "I had to cut open her womb and – hmm, what's the proper term? Oh, yes, a caesarean."

_Keep him talking_, Alucard thought. Keep this blabbermouth babbling on until he was sure of the situation. He said, "What did you do with the foetus?"

Mordecai smiled an eerie, twisted smile. "I put it over there." He pointed to a pickle jar sitting atop the shelf near his desk.

"Is it…?"

"Dead? Oh, yes. It was only in its embryonic stage. No head, or eyes or arms or legs. Poor thing; it looks a bit like a tadpole."

"What does this have to do with me and Leanne?"

"Well…since then, I'd never been able to get vampires out of my head. And after I found Leanne with the vampire fang, I knew straight away she had been in contact with a vampire, and that one would come for her. It was merely a matter of time and patience."

Alucard was about to lunge at him; if the puny human doctor believed these steel bars would keep him in, then he was sorely mistaken. He was only stopped in his actions when he heard the girl emit another uncomfortable noise. "Why do you insist on calling her **Leanne**?"

"Because that's what she called herself." Rosenthal said, "When she woke up, she told me her name was _Leanne Van der Linde_, and she had been in a fire. When I asked about her parents, she said they were dead. Funnily enough…even if she was in a fire, she has no scars."

Leanne _Van der Linde_? _A fire?_ _Dead parents_?

He didn't quite understand. But Mordecai was right. Ruby/Leanne had _**no**_ scars on her body. He'd seen her naked...well, almost. He'd seen enough to know that she had no scars. Turning back to her, he saw her stretch slightly, her top riding up her stomach, unintentionally revealing more skin than he could handle. He groaned again. No…must focus…kill the doctor… The cell would not stop him, but…the drug…the vampire aphrodisiac…this was his first time hearing of such a ridiculous thing but it seemed it did, in fact, exist and it was also working… His mind was hazy, his shaft throbbed in his pants, and he suddenly had an overwhelming desire and want for her. He longed to touch the sleeping girl on the bed. They'd only been separated for five days but it felt like eternal torture…

He withdrew his shaking hand that was reaching to cup her face, to touch her hair, stroke the curve of her cheeks. He could not give in. Touching her…doing _anything _to her when she was unconscious would be against her will. It would be a shameful, disgusting act to commit. A heinous, atrocious act…especially towards a woman, but…

Out of his control, Alucard found himself clambering over the girl despite every fibre of his undead wellbeing screaming at him. Just a touch. A quick touch. Maybe a kiss. Yes, he would steal a kiss. An innocent kiss on the lips. Then he'd tear the doctor apart. Kill him. Skin him. Dice him. Chop off his arms and legs. Feed him to stray dogs. Yes, that would do. No, wait. He should do it now, before anything else happened…threaten him for an antidote… but Alucard found himself placing his hand on Ruby's stomach and inhaled a hiss from the contact. She did not stir; she didn't even seem to be aware that he was touching her. He couldn't help himself. His hands seem to have a mind of their own and they were swimming underneath her clothes. Breathing erratically, he leant down and kissed her gently, his hands gliding further up her stomach and under her bra to her breasts, cupping them. Her breasts fit neatly into his palms; they were not too large or too small.

They were…perfect.

Rosenthal pulled over a foldable stool from the side and sat down, watching the pair with his notepad in one hand over his knee, scribbling down more notes. "Vampire specimen displays keen interest in female anatomy." He was murmuring to himself.

Alucard kissed her hungrily; it felt so damn good, to feel her soft lips against his. The weak moans she emitted only spurned him on, and he caressed and squeezed her soft breasts, enjoying how they yielded under his working fingers; her expression scrunched a little but she did not awake, even when he began to trail long, passionate kisses down to her jaw and neck. Oh god, he wanted her so badly. But the doctor. The goddamned doctor. The doctor was _watching_. He should kill him now. Yes yes yes. Get out of this cell. Take Ruby…no, Leanne…Ruby(?)…no…what was her name? Fine, he'd call her Leanne for the moment… and escape. Speaking of Leanne, he didn't realise he'd even begun to grind against her.

"Vampire specimen demonstrating strong signs of desire to mate with the female. Innate or environmental? Requires further research."

That brought the vampire back to reality and he stopped; it was disgusting a human was witnessing them like this and _taking down notes_. With a roar he tore himself away from the girl and focused his attention on the current situation before he melded himself into the shadows, away from prowling human eyes.

"What the - ?" Rosenthal spluttered as he sat up, the chair falling to the ground. "Where did he go?"

He was answered when a grip seized him and he was suddenly in the air, flailing, his glasses flying askew from his nose. "You chose the wrong specimen, doctor." Alucard growled as he re-appeared behind him; he had grabbed Rosenthal by the neck, hoisting him up.

Rosenthal gagged and spluttered, choking and rasping helplessly, "P…Please don't kill me! I'm just an honest man doing honest work! I just want to find out more about you!"

"The key to the cell." Alucard demanded. "Give them to me."

The doctor rammed a hand into his pockets and began rummaging, then shakily protruded out a small iron key. "H-Here."

Alucard grabbed it and with the doctor kept in his grip, he moved to the cell containing the unconscious girl and unlocked it for the time being. Whatever Rosenthal had inflicted him with, it was still working; Alucard could not concentrate properly.

However, now that he was out of his cell, he noticed that the rest of the room (it looked more like a basement) contained an operating table, a desk with more stakes piled on top and a half-empty bookshelf with several jars standing in the middle shelf. The basement was also built with various cells similar to the one he and Ruby/Leanne had been locked in, all harbouring strange creatures inside. Upon closer inspection, he realised they were actually prowling Ghouls. The once-human creatures were padding around directionless in their confined spaces, with most cells containing two Ghouls at least. "What kind of experiments were you conducting here below the surface, doctor?" He demanded, when he saw a skeleton lying in one of the cells.

"…T-They are interesting…Not human…but still…look like humans…" Rosenthal croaked out.

"Tell me more."

"N-No!" He screamed, and Alucard's grip increased on his throat subsequently and the doctor began to gag and splutter uncontrollably. "A-Alright! I'll tell you…They…display…no levels of human intelligence…even lower than animals. Their instincts are to k-kill…only to kill…and feed…"

"And those are human remains. Explain."

"…I-I took and locked them in with the ghouls…just to see what…happened."

"_You killed them_."

"For the sake of scientific discovery…think of all the things I could have discovered…" The doctor whimpered helplessly.

"Yet you killed humans. She thought highly of you, and you betrayed her trust." Alucard growled as he threw a quick glance to Leanne, but Rosenthal merely shook his head.

"Sacrifice is necessary in the name of science."

Alucard watched him in steely silence. "What happened between your sister-in-law and the vampire? _Tell me, or else_."

"They…They were…well…Em-Emilia was…she was…" Mordecai reluctantly spoke, squeezing his eyes shut.

"She was _WHAT_?"

"…She was engaged to my brother, Anthony…And everyone in the village knew… But then…but then I found out she was actually going behind my brother's back with the vampire."

"Because she came to you for an abortion."

Mordecai nodded feebly, trembling.

"Did she not love the vampire?"

The doctor fell silent.

Alucard decided he needed more persuasion and his fist closed tighter over his throat.

Immediately, Mordecai began that useless trembling again and spluttered out, "N-No. She begged me not to tell anyone…but I told my brother anyway. What was I supposed to do, goddamnit? He's my _brother_! So I told him what had happened. He was angry…because…well, vampires live in the mountains, but they've never come down and hurt us before, until…you know. So he…he…called experts, reporting the vampires as though they were some kind of rat infestation. Like pest control."

Alucard knew the rest of that story. _Anthony Rosenthal called Hellsing_. To get rid of the vampires. for final.

Mordecai continued, "Black vans came and then all the vampires were gone. Just like that."

"What happened to your brother and his wife?"

"He still wanted her, even after all that. They left the village together."

With a nod of satisfaction, Alucard realised he had everything he needed to hear. Caelum and Emilia Rosenthal were once romantically involved…but then he raped her… she went to Mordecai for an abortion, and then her fiancé Anthony found out. They contacted Hellsing, which prompted Arthur Hellsing to come kill the vampires. Following that…Caelum was captured (_**not **_by Hellsing – that needed some more research, possibly it was the corporation that experimented on vampires) and Anthony and Emilia relocated somewhere else to escape the nightmare of Bal'allan…

Now...what should he do with this scumbag doctor?

With a growl, his hand clenched around Rosenthal's neck so tightly that the man was only capable of emitting feeble croaks and undecipherable gasps as his face turned to the colour of paste; Alucard considered snapping his neck. It would quick, and he was burning with an insatiable desire for Leanne at the precise moment. But this doctor, this terrible human…what he did was far beyond forgiveness. And it was then he remembered he was still under the effects of the drug the doctor had administered him earlier on which he had managed to keep at bay whilst interrogation the doctor, until now.

Alucard growled out, "Where is the antidote."

"O-Over there."

Dare he trust the scoundrel? Alucard reached for the item the doctor was pointing to - a small vial with a clear liquid inside - at the same time there was a sharp pain in his leg and he realised Rosenthal had a hidden syringe lodged up his sleeve and pushed down, injecting the contents into him. With a loud roar, Alucard dropped to the floor and let go of the blasted human who scrabbled away to grab the closest wooden stake off his desk surface.

His vision began to blur again, the room was beginning to spin too; he turned round just to see the doctor about to slam the stake into him, but –

"Get away from him!"

The foldable stool Rosenthal had once been sitting on was suddenly slammed against the back of his head, temporarily stopping him in his attack and making him stumble slightly; Alucard glanced up to see Leanne, who had now awakened. No, he thought, he could not let Leanne do this… it was too dangerous…she wouldn't be able to stop the doctor…he tried to shake off the effect of the drug the doctor had just injected into him but to no avail. It was too fast acting.

She dumped the stool to the side and rushed over to help him up, a hand on his arm, but he was somewhat unresponsive. "...Mr B! Mr B, oh god, are you alri – " She was cut off when a palm clamped around her mouth from behind, jerking her head backwards, exposing the front of her neck. A blade was put to her neck and in one messy but quick motion, the blade stretched across her throat and her eyes went wide.

Alucard stared, as the blood spewed freely forth from her slit throat, and the hand let go of her mouth. She dropped to the ground, her eyes open, unmoving.

And there was Dr Rosenthal, who had now recovered with blood dribbling from the top of his head from where she hit him. In his bloodied hands, he was holding the blade.

But then his hand that had been grasping the blade flopped to the floor in a messy spray of blood, having been sliced clean off the wrist by an unseen force. With a yelp, he began clutching at the bloodied stump of his wrist with his intact hand; what had happened? He threw his glance down but the girl was motionless…which could only mean it was…

He shakily turned round to see the vampire rising off the ground, but something was different about him this time…a dark, foreboding miasma was engulfing his body, and Mordecai Rosenthal gulped down, upon realisation what he had just done. For what he did to Leanne, Alucard was going to _slaughter_ him.

Rosenthal's screams were music to his ears.

* * *

><p>"<em>Will it hurt?"<em>

"_**Only when a human doesn't want to be bitten…"**_

Huh?

_**"…All these years…I have waited, just for you. I held everything back until I was raw and dry of emotion."**_

_**"I am fond of you, Ruby."**_

_**"It is the truth. You have stirred…feelings within me…And I will never let you go. You are mine. Do not forget that."**_

Mr Brenner? Is that you?

_**"…Do you want me, Ruby?"**_

_"Wha - ? What kind of question is that? Do __I__want __you? You don't ask girls that! And – "_

_**"I want you."**_

Two voices. A man's voice and a woman's voice. Sounds a lot like…me…and Mr Brenner? Yes…he said that to me once. I remember now. We…we were together, and his name's not Brenner. It's…

It's…

_"…You know…Mr Morris said that women were your passion."_

_**"You are my passion now, Ruby. I crave no other woman but you.**_ _**In fact, I…It pains me that I cannot spoil you as much as I could. I was once a Prince. A high ruler. Voivode of Wallachia. I could have given you everything you wanted: diamonds, emeralds, rubies."**_

That's right, he is…no, he was a Prince… He was alive so many centuries ago and then he became a Count…

"_**Do you wish to live forever, Ruby**_**?"**

_"N-No! I don't want to... I-I don't want to become a vampire! And why do you want my blood so badly anyway? If I'm…If I am your…er… mate, isn't that… enough?"_

_**"It is a passage of rite. The Passage of the Blood."**_

Oh yes. He's a vampire…and his name was Dracula, but now he is called…

"_Hey, Alucard?"_

"_**Yes, Ruby?"**_

...Oh, and I'm his mate too and at first, I really didn't like him because he was scary and forceful but as time passed I realised there's more to him than that, and he really is lovable and nice and sweet and gentle in his own way, but I...

I…  
>I…<p>

* * *

><p>He held her in his arms.<p>

After his hellhound devoured Rosenthal, he immediately went to her side.

Alucard could feel her pulse weakening. She was unresponsive to him, but he knew she was dying slowly and painfully in his arms.

His fangs lengthening, he respectively opened his mouth wide and steady above the desired area of her neck, as though bracing for impact; he could hear her pulse weakening, the blood slowing down…he had to do it now…she would be his eternally, a draculina…turning her was a dream he dared to even think to come true as he inwardly was apprehensive because of the reasons and causes as to why he would have to turn her in the first place…and often he would also be consumed with trepidation that he would not have the courage to bite her...but this was _real_. The past would have to be put behind him, and all fears would have to be faced head on from now on…

Without further ado, he threw his head down and stabbed his fangs into her flesh.

He held her firmly in his arms, his fangs still deeply embedded in her vein, and her blood, her life, was seeping into his system. It was too much… her blood was delicious…he'd drank from other women before but they were incomparable to her on many levels. She was far too exquisite, too delicate and elusive…a taste too rare to be enjoyed in minutes, but rather, to be taken in pleasure for hours. He suppressed a shuddering groan but slowly found himself losing control. He was feeding off her with complete abandon; he embraced her intimately and let his body relax over her entirely, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he continued to drink.

"...Alucard…" She suddenly croaked out, seemingly regaining consciousness. Was she turning already?

He didn't hear, engrossed in his endeavours. He continued to suck at her neck, her succulent, rich blood flowing into him like a rush of adrenaline, a shot of ecstasy.

"...Alucard, what are you doing...? You're taking too much…"

Again, it fell to deaf ears; he moaned, moving his head for a better angle to drink the sweet, saccharine ambrosia that would be his forever.

Her hand was grasping at his shirt now, her little fingers gripping the fabric tightly, "…A-Alucard…" She gasped out breathlessly; her eyelids were drooping as her breath became short and strenuous, then her hand fell from his shirt to her side, her fingers going limp.

As she finally died in his arms, he inadvertently invaded a memory...a distant memory of Ruby Ashcroft, a hidden memory…A memory of how she became what she was, and what she had been…

And what she was no longer.

…..

_..__.It's… hot…_

_What is…  
>What is that smell?<em>

_Fire…?_

…_Mum?_

_Dad?_

_Where are you?_

_Wait.  
>There's someone there…standing in the middle of the room…<em>

_A man._

_I don't know him.  
>I've never seen him before. He's covered in blood…<br>He has…red eyes._

_Why is he staring at me?_

_The fire is…the fire isn't hurting him?_

_He's coming closer._

_I can't do anything. I'm just crying and crying. I can't touch the bars of my cot because it's too hot. There's an awful smell and its really hot. This man…he stops in front of me and tilts his head to his side, then he picks me up and smiles, with me bundled in his arms, then he begins to rub my back._

_I stop crying.  
>It's comfortable…<em>

_As he walks out of the room, a hand grabs his ankle._

_He pays no attention to it._

…_.._

_When I wake up, there are two people in front of me. A man and a woman. They're both young and in white coats. I've never seen these people before. I don't recognise them._

_The man who saved me from the fire, the man who is carrying me - Red Eyes - he hands me over to the woman._

_I start crying and hold onto him, my little arms reaching for him, but the woman takes me off him despite how louder I cry and bawl. "Aww, it's okay, sweetheart. Mummy's got you…"_

_No. No. You're not my…_

_Mummy?_

"_Darling…stop crying…" The woman coos, and she begins to sing gently to me while holding my small hand in hers._

"_What will you call her, Samuel?" asks Red Eyes._

"…_I…" The other man, who has been silent, but has been looking at me the entire time, he hesitates, "It's up to Dahlia."_

"_Ruby." The woman carrying me replies, with a smile, "Her name will be Ruby."_

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

1. I've been wondering what Bal'allan village might look like. so far, I just keep thinking of Nibelheim from Final Fantasy 7  
>2. <strong>UPDATE 2013.<strong> I have changed the events of this chapter; Ruby/Leanne was originally killed by multiple stab wounds by Rosenthal. This time, she died from a slit throat. Horrible I know XO


	28. Mating

**PLEASE READ!**

**AUTHORS NOTE UPDATE 2012:**

Lalalala...Well…this is a self explanatory chapter title of what to expect.

This is it.

The lemon. Yes, it's FINALLY the lemon. Ummm…this is my first actual lemon, like full-on lemon. I only have one word for it which is - AWKWARD!

Remember that author's note in a previous chapter where I said they won't be at like bunnies and it'll at least be classy? Well, I can't really guarantee that anymore... er, another thing is I've not gone into details too much but it still might be dirty/cringe-y for your taste.

If you don't wanna read the lemon, which happens somewhere in the middle, that's fine, but this chapter is actually lemon-centric. You'll know when they are, um...starting and you can skip to the next chapter!

Yeah, so, **WARNING WARNING WARNING:** LEMON ALERT!

* * *

><p><em>Mating<em>

Ruby Ashcroft was dead.

In fact, she had been dead for a few hours now, just lying there, unmoving and cold to touch, eyes closed, mouth half-open. No pulse. No breath. No heartbeat. She didn't look any different to someone who was merely taking a quick nap. The only exception was that her throat was crushed and she was covered in blood.

Alucard carried her up to the mountains. He did not trust the humans of Bal'allan and if they saw him carrying a dead girl in his arms back to the harbour, things would probably go a lot worse than they already were. It was getting dark but the sun was still strong, and the humans were preoccupied in putting out the flames of a mysterious fire that suddenly stemmed from Anthony Rosenthal's clinic…

Back in the basement, when he finally tore himself off her with his last ounce of self-control, he pulled out his fangs from her throat to find he'd bitten through her throat and crushed it, and she was nearly drained of blood. She didn't respond when he called her name. He sat back and gazed at her body then, staring at the blood splashed all over her front, and then wiped the blood off himself, a macabre scene which showed him thoroughly that he'd lost control and the outcome was…violent. He called her name but she did not respond. He shook her slightly but she didn't respond to that either.

She was dead.

After leaving the basement, he threw a lit match on Mordecai's sweetcorn-patterned curtains and exited the clinic. He cleaned her of blood with a strip of his shirt dipped into clean water from the local watering hole and settled her into his arms, mentally commenting on how pretty she looked despite being…well, _dead_, and spooned her into his arms.

Although the mountains were not his first choice of a retreat, it would have to do, even though he knew he would have to put up with…

"Och, are me poor eyes deceiving me? Is that you, Mr No-Life King? Back with another wee draculina? Ooh, this wan doesnae look too good, sir. She's a bit unresponsive."

Herbert…no, _Thade_, as he called himself.

Thade Nuvos.

Alucard was relatively surprised he'd even remembered the name of that ridiculous excuse for a vampire.

Thade looked slightly healthier the last time he'd seen him. He was not so grey and not so balding, with longer blonde hair that reached to the base of his neck. His improved physical appearance still didn't masquerade the stench he emitted though, however. "Well, ye can stay in this wee cave if ye like, give ye and yer deid bird a bit of privacy." Thade said, dumping a blanket over the ground. "This is the cleanest wan I got. Oh please doon kill me."

Alucard dismissed him as Thade began grovelling at his feet again. "Leave us."

"O-Oh, of course sir, treat this as your own hame, sir. If ye ever need anything, like room service, per se, ye can just yell for me to come back oop. Ah'm doon that cave over there – " Thade pointed to the cave slightly lower down a ledge, "That's mine right there."

He gave him an acknowledging nod and Thade scurried out after constructing a small fire in the middle of the cave which took a few minutes, before leaving the two alone.

Alucard glanced around. The fire did not provide much warmth, not that he needed it, but he lowered Ruby's body over the blanket and then sat down beside her, watching her. He could not bring a dead Ruby back to his master; who knows what kind of reaction that would elicit?

He brushed a few hairs from her eyes and then withdrew his hand to watch her again. Now, he would have to wait patiently for her to come back to life.

Police Girl took some time when he turned her. Hell, she took all night until she woke up the next morning, and even then, she woke up screaming, or at least, a little distressed. Who'd know how Ruby would act when she woke up? It'd be the same for her possibly, depending on the wounds and the amount of blood drained and whatever she may be dreaming of.

What do the dead dream of anyway?

….

She woke up with a rough jerk, bolting upright.

Had everything been a dream?  
>The doctor stabbing her…<br>Alucard…_biting her_…?

Her eyes darted back and forth frantically, and she realised she was alone, and in a cave or some sort.

At first, she noticed that she could hear the faint rush of water flowing from somewhere outside, and inside, she could hear the loud drip-drip of water falling from stalactites onto the cavern floor. Her eyesight appeared to be sharp and focused, much, much better than before (she often required reading glasses for her textbooks). Confused, she glanced down at her herself and let her hands roam over the wound on her neck. To her astonishment, the area where Rosenthal had slit her throat, the cut, had completely vanished from her neck. With a gasp, she placed a hand to the side of her neck where Alucard had allegedly bitten her, her fingertips brushing against two little puncture dots on her skin.

It was real.

She was now a…

_Vampire?_

She didn't exactly feel like one.  
>What now?<p>

What should she, as a vampire, as a child of the darkness, do now?

First of all, she checked if she had fangs. With a shaking hand, her fingers made contact with two pointed tips that were once her canines. Her teeth felt longer and sharper, deadlier and far more foreboding than before. No longer were they used for biting through meat but to bite into flesh and pierce the jugular. She shivered somewhat. Her fangs were not as pronounced as Alucard's teeth were, but the realisation she did have fangs made her a little uncomfortable.

She got up clumsily from the blanket she had been lying on and scoured the cave for her walking stick, only to find it was not there. Despite that, she realised her leg felt fine and she no longer appeared to limp. She walked towards the mouth of the cave where light from outside could be seen, her hand stretching forwards.

As soon as the light touched her hand, her skin began eroding away, and she quickly retreated from the light, clutching her sizzling hand.

She was mortified to see that the skin was burnt.

Did that mean she could no longer go in the light? No, that was not true. Alucard could. She'd seen Seras go out before, too. Joshua was also skateboarding in the Hellsing garden once. And Caelum held the tournament in broad daylight; she was sure there were plenty of vampires there. But Joshua has been a dracul for thirty years…and god knows how old Caelum really was. Seras was a draculina at least a few months old. It must be an age thing.

_I probably won't be able to go out for some time…_

"Leanne."

She spun round upon hearing the familiar voice.

_Alucard._

The No-Life King was watching her from his spot, watching how confused she appeared. "…I did not hear you wake." He said and she noticed he was looking at her strangely; his crimson eyes inspected her from head to toe before he levelled his head to meet her gaze… even then it felt as though he was stripping away at her clothes with his eyes only…

She clutched at the sleeve of her bloodstained clothes. At first, a silence spawned between the two as they merely gazed at each other, before she lowered her gaze. "…You can call me Ruby." She murmured quietly, and the silence came again following her remark. _This is so awkward!_ She thought to herself worriedly.

To her relief, he spoke again, breaking the monotony: "Come." He beckoned her, and she followed him into the cave away from the entrance. They returned to the clearing with the blanket that was spread over the ground and the fire that was slowly crackling away at dead, dry weeds and twigs. He sat down on the ground before patting his lap. "Sit."

She gawped at him, contemplating his one-word commands and stood for a short while before slowly waddling over and plopping herself down. She tried to remember what had exactly happened but found that she was missing a few gaps in her memory. He brought her closer to him so she was sitting comfortably and encircled his arms around her waist respectively; she sat perched over his crossed legs, before glancing up at him expectantly.

"Look at me."

"I am looking at you."

He smirked at her in response before patting her head before moving on to brush away a few strands of her hair from her face again, then he clamped his hands on her cheeks and turned her face left and right in deep inspection.

"What are you doing?" She asked, when he began to pull at her cheeks playfully, making her grin, frown and make all sorts of other strange faces.

Alucard did not say anything except continue to caress her before he let go to envelop his long arms around her once more. She giggled lightly when he delved his face into her neck, burying his nose against her nape affectionately, his lips brushing over her skin. He wanted to drink from her again even though he had drunk from her previously and in a period of less than twenty fours; she had also just woken up so he believed it was not such a good idea. She seemed oblivious to his growing hunger and wrapped her arms around him in return.

"What's wrong? It's okay," She said, with another giggle as he lifted her legs before planting them on each side that she was now straddling him, "I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to be _right here_."

He seemed glad she'd said such a thing, and again, they stared at one another for what seemed to be an eternity until Ruby suddenly found his lips pressed against hers. She blinked, finding herself in an awkward position since she was trapped within the cage of his arms, crushed completely against him as their lips continued to clash together in a heated, passionate battle. When he pulled back, she was dazed and blinking owlishly at him.

"Ruby, I want you." He murmured, "…Do you understand?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but then nodded. Letting go of her face, Alucard removed the bloodstained shirt off her shoulders; her mouth fell open in shock by his sudden action, but she did not stop him. A nagging thought in the back of her mind was that whatever that would happen next following this action, was not going be very gentle and even if she voiced her opinion, he would not really care. She stared as his hands began to slip her shirt down to her waist and she was brought to lie down on the blanket.

Ruby blinked as he hovered above her, her breaths beginning to shorten with…anticipation? She didn't understand what was going on with her precisely but she felt needy for him too…hot and wanting. When he leant in for a kiss, she responded to him eagerly. The blanket was forgotten. The fact that they were in a cave was forgotten. The fact that it was cold and a little damp was forgotten. They kissed each other hungrily and frantically as though they'd been separated for centuries, kissing each other with all the intensity and passion accumulated within them. During their kissing frenzy, he'd pried off his jacket and shirt and tossed it to the side, leaving himself in his slacks and cravat which he let her untie with trembling fingers, the flimsy ribbon falling to the side, forgotten.

He lifted her off the ground and into his lap again, just as she began kissing his face and neck, her soft lips trailing over his nose and eyelids. He smirked and let her nibble on his flesh as he stroked the arch of her back; a sense of triumph overtook him as he felt the tips of her new fangs digging into his skin now and then with each lingering kiss. He took one of her hands that was now clutching him and kissed her knuckles, before unbuttoning her jeans quickly and once they were halfway-down her thighs, he focused on her panties, ripping them off her.

She pulled away, breathless and flushed, then her eyebrows furrowed calculatingly at her almost-nakedness before she turned to him and realising he was still not-naked; her hands then found the rim of his slacks. As much as he did not like females to be all over him since he had always believed himself to be the dominant one, watching Ruby and her little hands attempting to remove his pants made him amused and aroused at the same time. With another grin, he put his own hands over hers and guided them to pull down his pants.

Her eyes widening, she swallowed when he stood up and pulled down his slacks; she embarrassedly turned away as he came into full view and she quickly pulled away; he moved back down beside her and hauled her into his lap. "_Do you want my blood, Ruby_?" He questioned her, with a notable teasing lilt in his voice as a smirk graced his handsome face, and she blushed.

"…Blood?" She squeaked out, whipping her head up to him in confusion.

With a nod, he sat back and turned his head to the side for her, and she stared at his exposed neck. "Drink my blood; you need it." He murmured, and she wished he wouldn't speak to her with such a sultry tenor; it sent tingly chills down her spine and her throat became dry. Her eyes glued onto the thick, porcelain column that was his neck, and she could hear the faint rush of his blood in his veins. She needed it. She needed blood, since he drained her to almost-empty back then. Shakily, she swallowed a growing lump in her throat, before gradually reaching forwards to him.

Alucard seemed to enjoy dangling himself in front of her; he watched her in mental debate, watched her cerulean blue eyes flicker from scarlet and back to clear azure, and back to cherry-red, betraying her outward reluctance.

Still, Ruby managed to shake her head.

"No?"

"_No_."

It may take some time before she would want to drink; for now, he pushed her down to lie on the blanket again and spread her legs while she seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts; his fingers found their way inside her while she was distracted, disappearing into her soft, wet core and she gasped slightly, trembling around him. She glanced up at him with her mouth open but then her eyes fluttered closed and she moaned in bliss as he stroked her mischievously; she clawed at him at first before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and when he withdrew, he licked the juice off and smirked. At least she was wet for him already, but maybe not enough.

Sucking in a shaky gasp, she threw a nervous glance at him, "Alucard, _not here_ – "

He silenced her with a kiss, as his hand pressed on her back and she was made to lean forwards into him. He wanted it now and nothing was going to stop him. He loomed above her, deciding to let go to stroke the curve of her back, his fingers raking over the sinewy arch and she shivered when his hands then latched onto her waist, curling around her sides before gliding to a stop underneath her bra where he pushed it up over her breasts before ripping the garment completely off her. He gathered her flesh together with his hands, feeling her breasts in his palms before he began to knead them, tweaking her nipples with his fingers, giving them a rough squeeze. She blushed and clamped her eyes shut but it was not enough to stop her from moaning from his actions and she instantly felt a flood of wetness in between her legs. As he continued to fondle, his tongue flicked out and she gasped when he licked one nipple enticingly before his lips closed to suckle at the tightening bud.

She gasped again and her hand fisted his hair; soon, he pulled back to concentrate on her other breast, earning more delicious moans from her as he used his tongue to tease her other nipple too.

When he let go of her, she was panting and gasping for breath, although he hadn't done anything to her yet. "Beg for me, my love. Beg for me to be inside you." He murmured, with a wicked grin as he palmed her breasts again.

She was consenting to be as intimate with him as intimate as a man and woman together could be, but she didn't realise he would say something like that. She shook her head again, refusing to be part of his games although she honestly should've known any intimate moment with Alucard _would_ be like this. In seconds, he spread her legs and she began to get nervous; he took a firm hold on her trembling hips, and eagerly situated himself between her thighs; she looked at him before he locked eyes with her, as if seeking consent…

She nodded.

…then he thrust himself into her awaiting core.

"Ah!" She cried out, her eyes clamping shut at the somewhat painful intrusion of his length; although he'd penetrated her before but that was only with his fingers. However, it wasn't as painful as she thought, perhaps because pleasure was beginning to overcome the discomfort. Gwen had been plaguing her with her stories of her 'many' experiences with numerous men and the girl terrified Ruby at some point during their sleepover parties, but now the real thing was happening, it didn't feel as scary or sore as she had always believed.

"…So tight." Alucard was rasping; obviously he perceived the circumstance differently than her since he was partially buried into her. "_You're so tight_."

She inhaled a shaky breath when he began to shower her with kisses to calm her down, and she stopped holding in her breath as her gut came undone as though it had been a tight knot. After what seemed an eternity, he managed to ease himself deeper within her all the way to the hilt and they were joined fully. She made another strangled noise again…it was such an odd sensation, for a man to be inside her in such an unfamiliar manner, but also to be so deeply and tightly, so intimately… They stayed in that position for a while, as though savouring the fact that they were finally allowed to be joined as so. However, all that came to a stop when he looped his arms under her knees and made her wrap her legs around his waist all she could do was groan at the new sensation it created when doing so allowed him to grind in deeper within her.

"…Put your arms around my neck."

She looked up; his beautiful face was heavy with lust, with desire. She did as she was told and lifted her arms from his shoulders to his neck to bring him closer; he buried his face into her hair and let out a low groan from the back of his throat. They stayed locked in that position, to get comfortable, and then he began to rock against her. She thought she would be terrible at this… terrible, like the inexperienced and naïve virgin she was, as she tried to meet his rhythmic thrusts with her own. She felt clumsy and awkward, yet Alucard's breathy moans and grunts told her otherwise; his arms on her went taut, as he thrust into her in a surprisingly gentle and controlled manner.

Her blood was boiling; maybe it was a vampire thing or maybe it was a mate thing, or both, to feel such an intense sensation and connection as their bodies writhed together in increasing ecstasy. She felt her walls constrict around his length, his shaft sliding in and out of her…in and out… very slowly…it was undeniably tormenting…With each deep thrust, their hips rocked together in unison, their bodies gliding against each other in heated passion.

He began to increase his pace; pushing her legs to hike them up even higher above his waist almost to his shoulders and she gasped; she had already gotten used to the slow pace, as torturous and frustrating as it was. Now he was moving up one step without her. He watched her the entire time, watching her body undulate beneath him and her flushed face that was filled with invisible pleasure and turmoil from the quickened rate he was subjecting her to. It goaded him on, spurned him to drive harder, listening to her moan his name out relentlessly; and he arched himself over her again to kiss the side of her neck, pumping into her quickly whilst whispering words to her in Romanian. She belonged to him… she was his forever…that was all he cared about.

Ruby was _his_.

"Not…Not so fast…" She whimpered breathlessly, closing her eyes and throwing her head back with her mouth agape in a silent gasp as she realised he was withdrawing quickly only to slam back inside her with reckless abandon, forcing out wrangled moans.

"Ruby, I…need…need to be deeper inside you." He grunted as his eyes slid to a close, and his eyebrows knitted together, as though he was relishing the feel as their hips continued to move together in blissful accord. He couldn't help himself, even if he was going too fast. He was losing himself in the intense pleasure that was building up as she clenched around him like a vice, and he was desperate to seek release. Everything that happened between them previously, every little touch or sensual kiss, and he'd always felt it was a cruel teaser of what was being denied to him when Ruby was still human. He despised it, it felt as though he was chained and held down by an invisible pressure, but now that he was allowed to get what he wanted, he was helplessly unsympathetic that he simply did not care anymore.

Even if it was her first time.

"Mine." He was growling raggedly; his instincts were taking over as the pleasure continued to pile up inside him and his shaft grew heavy, aching and throbbing as he plunged into her with his increased pace. "_Mine_."

As he began to lose himself into her, he found his hand clawing into her hair, drawing her head back as he continued to shove himself into her hot, moist core harder and deeper, releasing all his passion into his mate and drawing in the pleasure she was giving him. His fangs extended and he bit down, her sweet blood filling into him. Ruby whimpered again as a rush of ecstasy shot into her; she did not think his bite would inflict this effect on her. She was powerless…his grip on her was too strong and it didn't seem he was intent on letting go; her legs had released from his waist when she found herself unable to keep up with his pace and she was now merely accommodating to him as he subjected her to his crazed thrusting.

"You're mine, Ruby." He was growling into her ear hauntingly again and again when he retracted his fangs from her neck; he licked her neck clean before his arms tightened around her possessively as he pumped into her, "_Say it."_

"I'm yours." She whimpered helplessly as she tried to meet him thrust for thrust desperately, for she should have known he would not be gentle, and that his roughness and harsh pace should have been expected, "I'm yours..."

With that, he moved faster, slamming deeper, and she was moaning helplessly with each rough thrust that she did think it was not possible he could bury himself into her as far as this; she felt his tip reaching that peak over and over again so sensitively that it made her cry weakly, which only caused him to groan louder. He pounded into her with all his strength that their bodies slapped against each other viciously and uncontrollably.

His mind was turning hazy as her blood and lust-filled groans continued to fuel him on, but he wanted more. He wanted to draw more exasperated, helpless little moans from his mate, he wanted to see her thrash under him and whimper, he wanted to make her toes curl and her throat sore from screaming his name out; with his last shred of self-control he loosened his grip on her to find that she appeared to be dazed and was now only moving semi-consciously.

He continued to grind in and out of her, snarling against her flesh like a beast and her fingers clamped into his hair, digging into his tousled locks as she moaned and moaned. He was maddened with desire for her, the need for release was so strong, and he gave a few more angry thrusts, his hips bucking violently against her until she screamed.

"Alucard!" Ruby cried out breathlessly as her own pleasure came, her walls squeezing him, milking him intensely. With his muscles tensing, he threw his head back with a brutal yell as he reached his pleasure moments after her and she gasped when she felt something spill inside her, filling her warmly.

Gradually, the tension that had been growing and growing in her lower stomach finally came to an end with a much appreciated sense of release…Panting helplessly underneath him as she trembled, her arms unlocked from his neck and she flopped against the blanket with a sigh although he was clutching her hips with an iron grip and still driving into her. He swallowed in a shaky breath and came to a stop, before he opened his eyes and swerved his glance down to where their bodies were joined; her body was also slightly bruised and he wanted to groan upon the fact that he'd hurt her. He glanced down again to see her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily, thoroughly exhausted. She was so beautiful, and as a draculina she was even more beautiful than she had been before…

And now, he had claimed her.

They were finally mated.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

1. Ruby is officially a draculina! I know this has now raised more things especially with her memory regain and that it should have been covered in this chapter here, about what exactly happened to Ruby while she was at the island - but the lemon needed to happen now and then I'll work again on The Truth; since we're nearing the end, I'm going to start wrapping up loose ends.

2. Alucard's pants. I didn't write about his boxers because that was awkward. All I can say is, he is so badass, he goes commando in this story!

3. Ruby's real name is Leanne but she will just be known as Ruby because she's been Ruby for over 20 chapters, I'm not going to change anything. Since we are nearing the end, I'm expecting this story to be finished around Chapter 30-something; I'm actually finding it hard to accept that this story is almost finished -sniffs-


	29. Passage of the Blood

Hello again! Thank you for the reviews. Umm, sorry I cannot reply to you all for the time being. I'm super busy, and the least I can do is post up chapters as I go along and you can piece things together. I'm planning to do some kind of afterword at the end so nevah fear all will be clear :)

* * *

><p><em>Passage of the Blood<em>

_...It's… hot…_

_What is…  
>What is that smell?<em>

_Fire…?_

…_Mum?_

_Dad?_

_Where are you?_

_Wait.  
>There's someone…<em>

_No, that's…__**what is that?**_

_It's got horns and…it's got wings…It's got fangs and it's skin is like…like leather, and it's black all over… it's so large and - I can hear screaming now…there's blood on the walls…_

_Mum? Dad!_

_The thing…the creature…monster, it turns round and –_

…_Who is that?_

_He's standing in the middle of the room where the monster was…no, he IS the monster…!_

_I don't know him.  
>I've never seen him before. He's covered in blood…<br>He has…red eyes._

_Why is he staring at me?_

_The fire is…the fire isn't hurting him?_

_He's coming closer…_

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

The room is silent.

It's a bit lonely without Ermen around, he realises. He wonders what life will be like now without him. He still has Luther, but the albino has limited - no, _none_ - verbal capabilities. Maybe he should post up an internal job advertisement, for a new assistant, but none would be as loyal to him as Ermen was. His island is gone, but that fact does not upset him. Nothing lasts forever.

Caelum sits at his chair in his office, overlooking the financial district of the city of London. It's getting dark, and Oracle, the corporation he took over, offers a grand view of the 30 St Mary Axe. He holds a glass of blood in his hand, not that he needs to drink it because he can go without blood for more than fifty years or more, but he's never really tried. He contemplates about everything that has happened, everything he has done, and a dry smile appears on his face.

"Mary?"

He is not alone in his office. Mary stands behind his desk, gazing at him worriedly. "Yes, father?"

In response, he laughs. "You keep addressing me that but do you not find it strange that I have never aged, yet you are aging considerably, day by day? I could be mistaken for your son."

"I know that."

"And?"

"…You're my dad."

He is still for a moment, before he says, "Mary, come here. Let me have a look at you."

She walks over to him as he requests, and he smiles at her.

"You've grown up so much; the years went by so quickly." He murmurs, as Mary kneels down in front of him, "…I respected your wish, not to turn you into something like me, but you're the only one that can bring joy to my life now."

Confused, Mary says, "But dad, you still have Luther."

"Yes, I know." He replies, with a smile, as he turns to the albino vampire expectantly. The vampire, upon mentioned, lowers himself to the ground on one knee, his head down. "But I've lived for a long time…and that is something you can't understand, Mary."

She shook her head fiercely. "That's not true. We still have time to leave. We can go away to live somewhere else; we don't have stay here. You don't have to look after us."

"If no-one looks after you, then who will?"

"Father, please…"

However, the door to his office suddenly slams open and a woman comes storming in; immediately, Luther rises up from his spot and begins to apprehend the woman, holding her back. "Let go of me!" She screams venomously, "I need to talk to you!"

Caelum slowly turns round in his chair with Mary beside him. "Ah, Cassandra."

"You KILLED him!" The woman named Cassandra screams and roars at him, all the while attempting to free herself from Luther's iron hold. "You killed him! You let him die! You threw him to the wolves! After everything's he's done for you! After all those years serving by your side! You just watched him die! You bastard! You heartless bastard!"

"Yes, Cassandra, I'm truly sorry about what happened to Ermen."

"No you're not! I hate you! I hate how you're so calm all the time! I hate how you keep sending them all to their deaths! _NO-ONE CAN KILL ALUCARD AND CERTAINLY NOT YOU_!"

With a sigh, the president gives Luther a quick nod. "Get her out of here. I'll speak with her later." Caelum says tiredly, and Luther, in return, also gives him a nod of acknowledgement before leading the distraught Cassandra out of the office.

Yet, she continues to scream and sob as she wriggles around in Luther's grip. "You just got lucky because Hellsing missed you fifty years ago! This time, I hope they kill you for – "

Luther suddenly lets go.

And the body crumples to the floor, the head is missing.

The white-haired vampire whips his head to Caelum in shock, blinking in muted silence as he stands drenched and surrounded in blood. It's not his own. Mary stares wide-eyed at the head rolling on the floor, before she shakily turns to her father, who is gazing intently at the body.

"F-Father?"

"…Yes, Mary."

"W-why…why did you…"

"She was too loud." says father, "…And she's with Ermen now. I'm sure that will satisfy her."

* * *

><p><strong>Later.<strong>

"I hope you have a good explanation for this."

Integra glanced from Ruby, to Alucard, who stood at the doorstep of the Hellsing manor. The Director had been asleep until she heard a helicopter whirring above the mansion…it was two in the morning…then the doorbell rang and she could not imagine who it may be, especially at this time of night. She was relatively surprised to find Alucard had bothered to use the door for a change but that was because he had returned from his twenty-four hour expedition with an extra individual he was carrying on his back.

Walter opened the door and there they stood; Integra checked her watch first, to find that Alucard had been away for more than twenty four hours as she specified, but perhaps a little timekeeping issue such as this could be overlooked…for now.

The girl was more of concern. Her blue eyes were dull and glazed, and Ruby herself was caked in dried blood. There was something different about Ruby compared to the other times the Director had seen her. She was far pale and she appeared weak and weary. Perhaps it was because Alucard had inexplicably turned her into a vampire. Turning to face the brown-haired draculina fully, the Director added, "It's good to see you again, Miss Ashcroft."

"…Good to see you too, Sir Integra." She mumbled; she was exhausted and drained. Before they left the cave to the helicopter, Alucard's insatiable libido meant he went after her at least three times, in less than two hours. _Damn his libido_, she thought, as her thighs ached. He'd even worried her when he purred in her ear that he was expecting her to come down to his basement sometime tonight **alone**.

"Master." Alucard began, temporarily breaking her out of her thoughts as he took out what appeared to be a small jar from the innards of his coat.

Integra gazed at it for a few moments, analyzing it intensely. Her expression was undecipherable, and she said not a word; her eyes narrowing behind her glasses, but then she nodded in acknowledgement. "…Come with me to my office; I'll wake Morris up. Miss Ashcroft, go with Walter for now; he will assist you."

The brunette nodded, and Walter gestured for her to follow him; they split ways, Alucard let her down and she gave him a warning look in which he responded with a playful smirk. Then she waddled after the butler, as he turned to follow Integra up the stairs.

She watched Walter's retreating back, wondering where he would be taking her. Previously, she had been a little more energetic when she woke up, but after going down the mountain and into the helicopter, she began to grow tired and weary. Alucard had commanded her to drink from him but she refused.

Now she was hungry.  
>Very hungry.<p>

Her stomach wasn't rumbling, but she knew she was starving.

Walter led her to a spare guest room first where he gave her a clean Hellsing uniform, the same mustard-yellow jumpsuit she had to wear during her previous visit. When she was dressed, with her gloves and stockings and those heavy black boots, she stepped out of the room to find Walter waiting outside, where he told her to follow him again.

This time, he led her downstairs to the kitchen, but he did not stop and prepare a meal for her as she expected; no, of course not… She knew vampires could no longer eat human food. She stared at the back of his neck the entire time, not that she could help herself. They took the elevator; it was an old-fashioned elevator with a lever and a sliding, metal rail for a door which the butler pulled out from its holding before securing it into the lock. He pushed down the lever to a floor with no label and Ruby waited nervously as the lift jittered into action, chugging down on the ancient cable down below.

She did not know there were so many secret, underground passageways in Hellsing as they passed an empty and dark, brick corridor. She also did not know that there were more than one basement level as the lift descended further, past a level with industrial-like metal fans that were churning loudly, and ventilation shafts that were puffing out thick, wispy fumes into the atmosphere.

Ruby swallowed down as the butler waited beside her patiently, his hand still on the lever. He seemed oblivious that she was staring at him relentlessly. "…Where are we going, Mr Dornez?" She croaked out, her throat still coarse and stinging with thirst.

"The Blood Room, Miss Ashcroft." He replied, without turning to her.

"B-Blood…room?"

"You must be famished."

"I-I am."

Walter's lips turned into a thin smile, and soon, the lift grinded to a complete stop. The butler unlocked the railing and slid it open, then stepped out, gesturing for Ruby to follow him again. They had stopped at another grimy-looking brick tunnel with cobwebs and dust that was dimly lit from lit torches affixed to the sides of the walls. She exited the lift and swallowed down, as Walter picked up an oil lantern from the side and lit it using a match.

With the lantern in hand, he strode through the passageway, and Ruby followed him once again. He eventually stopped at a triple bolt-locked, stone door at the end of the corridor; in fact, the corridor had been a linear, straight path. The door did not have a handle or a keyhole. All it had a demon's face carved on it, the creature's mouth open and its eyes angry, glaring at anyone who approached it. She gulped, while Walter chuckled; he took out a keycard from his pocket and swiped it against the small keypad-machine on the left (which contrasted heavily with the door's archaic appearance), and the door creaked open. Ruby stared nervously as the butler entered inside swiftly, before beckoning her to follow him.

"This way, please."

The room was very cold. Ruby followed Walter anxiously only to realise he'd led her into a large freezer, filled with countless of sealed bloodpacks fitted neatly into shelves. Ruby gasped; so much blood…she almost couldn't believe her eyes.

"Urhh…" Ruby groaned, stricken with hunger, and she winced at the sight. She was thirsty. Very thirsty.

"Now…let's see here. Do you have a blood preference, Miss Ashcroft?"

"Huh?"

"Ahh, I apologise, I should have introduced you to the Blood Room beforehand." The old butler mused. "This is where we store the blood received from donation parties and their anonymous donors. The reason so is because Miss Seras, Mr Sloan and Master Alucard, and now _you_, require blood. Sir Hellsing will authorise you with an access pass, identical to mine, and you can come down here whenever you like." Walter replied, "We have many blood types to choose from, from A, B…"

As Walter explained, Ruby couldn't help but compare this Blooding Room to the vampire bar. "…These are from donors?" She asked cautiously. "They were _willing_, right?"

"Of course."

"And what are those?" She pointed to the packs that were not filled in the adequately named sections such as A, B, AB and O. Instead, these bloodpacks appeared to be randomly scattered around on the shelves.

"Those packs contain blood from a variety of animals."

"…Er…animals?"

"Yes." Walter replied, "Now, Miss Ashcroft, what would you like? You are welcome to have as much as you want. All you have to do is take your pick."

Ruby glanced around herself, unsure.

What…would she _like_?

A…

B…

AB…

…O?

Or…maybe…animal blood…

* * *

><p><strong>Integra's Office.<strong>

"What is it?"

"It's a foetus." Morris replied, wheeling himself away from the table.

The hunter had been depressed that his knife was still missing but the foetus seemed to have distracted him, if not, for only temporary. Although Integra and the rest of the household were still dressed in daywear (since Hellsing never truly sleeps), he was in his pyjamas, which consisted of a white vest and black cotton pants. Since the tournament, the vampire hunter was recovering from his gut wound and had now a broken leg to put up with. Confined to his wheelchair, Morris could only provide limited, back-up support from now on. He was extremely intrigued by the pink, jelly bean in the jar, which sat on the surface, with the fleshy bean surrounded by a thick, goopy substance inside. "I'll conduct further experiments in the morning. Where did you get this again?"

"Anthony Rosenthal's little brother; he was conducting research on vampires and ghouls. He has had this specimen for years." Alucard replied, watching Morris from his spot. He explained to Integra about what had happened in Bal'allan. At first, she remained unfazed and listened intently to his retelling, but he omitted the part when they mated.

Surprisingly enough, Integra had not much to comment regarding Ruby's turning…

Now the foetus was the highlight of the conversation. "I'm surprised it's still in this form, even though it's dead." Morris added; he looked like a child on Christmas day about to open presents. "It did not erode away into blood as most vampires do, but it also hasn't decayed, as humans do after they die. It's like a hybrid of some sort."

"Hybrid?" Integra questioned as she sat rigidly behind her desk, "Between a human…and a vampire?"

"Exactly." Morris breathed, as he lifted the jar and held it into the light of the room, "I-I can't believe it…I didn't think it was possible…"

"There is your proof, Morris." Alucard replied, with a broadening grin.

"Now, about Ruby…" Integra said, turning to face Alucard properly, as Morris continued marvelling the jar with morbid curiosity. "She called herself _Leanne Van der Linde_?"

"Leanne Van der Linde…? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Morris murmured, rubbing at his chin with his hand. "What do you mean she called herself _Leanne Van der Linde_, Mr Alucard?"

"When I found her, Morris, she took on a new identity."

"…Actually, Leanne Van der Linde is the name of a missing girl, Alucard," Integra said, "It is a cold case. We came across her file when looking up Emilia Rosenthal's missing daughter. Did she mention anything about her parents, Alucard?"

"They died in a fire."

"That's consistent." Integra remarked, "…But…her parents… Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft. At the moment, we still do not have information on their whereabouts. But if she claims her parents were killed in a fire, then those people who are looking after her now…who are they?"

"Whoa," Morris said, "Why are we saying this all of a sudden, Integra?"

Integra turned to him, "…Do you not find it strange that Ruby identified herself as Leanne Van der Linde, and accurately recited the fact that her parents died in a fire?"

"Well, yeah, that is strange. So you're saying her parents right now **aren't **her real parents?" Morris replied, and Integra nodded. "But what makes you assume her parents aren't her real parents? What if they did die in a fire, and Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft have just adopted her?"

Integra crossed her arms over her chest lightly. "I am just concerned, that's all. For now, we will detain her here." She said, and Alucard raised an eyebrow at the word 'detain'. "…Something's not right here, but we will find out."

* * *

><p><em>Hungry…<em>

That was all she could think about.

…_Hungry.  
><em>…_I'm so hungry…_

Ruby wandered down the corridor of Hellsing manor on her lonesome, wrapping her arms around herself.

_I should have taken a blood pack…_

But no, she had refused and asked Walter to take her back upstairs.

She didn't want to drink blood.  
>She just didn't want to.<p>

But not drinking the blood when she needed it was starting to take a toll on her. Her vision began to deteriorate; Integra's elaborate paintings that were affixed proudly one after the other on the wall began to blur together into a mix of stunning colours. Her ears were assaulted with unfamiliar noises, from whispering to yelling and screaming and footsteps thundering around everywhere. What a racket. Moving her arms away from herself to clamp her hands over her ears, she sighed in relief when it alleviated the sounds, even if it was only slightly. On the other hand, she began to feel cold again and she couldn't stop shivering; she was breaking out into a cold sweat and her teeth began chattering against each other loudly, but then -

"Are you okay?"

The unrecognizable voice echoed around in the back of her mind before Ruby squinted her eyes. There was a man in the corridor. He was dressed in khaki camouflage with a bulletproof vest. A soldier. He strode up to her, his heavy boots going _clunk clunk clunk_with each step which only made Ruby groan and squeeze her eyes shut. The strange thing was her gaze landed on his neck first when he stopped in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Either it was an echo or he had asked her again.

_I-I don't know… _Her chaotic mind was in shambles,_ I'm so hungry…so hungry…_

"You're not allowed to wander the halls at this time, Miss."

"…C-Can't find my room…" She grunted out. Her stomach never grumbled but the Hunger was bad. _Really bad_. But she didn't want food.

"I'll escort you to your room – "

"No…I…I'm fine, I'll find it my-myself." She managed to stammer out as he moved forwards to help her. Tearing her eyes from his neck, she brushed past him and continued her journey back to the direction of the stairs. She was sure her room was upstairs somewhere.

Each step felt like it would be her last; her legs were heavy…weak…her knees… as though they would buckle under her… She was afraid of collapsing but it might seem inevitable. Her head was throbbing and the corridor spinning, Ruby eventually crumpled against the wall and stumbled to the ground.

"Whoa!" It was the soldier again; he went to help her up and she felt his hand on her arm, making her tense all over when the contact sent jolts down her spine; either her senses were extremely sensitive and attuned or she was definitely going through a weird, vampire-body-changing phase. He lifted her up off the ground, her legs still wobbling. "You really don't look good."

As he helped her to stand, he accidentally exposed his neck to her and Ruby felt her fangs elongate; she found herself beginning to reach for him…

_No!_

With a growl, she pushed herself away from the man and slammed a hand over her mouth to cover her fangs which didn't seem to be retreating. "I'm fine, honestly, thank you…" She blurted, her words muffled. Without another word, she dragged herself down the corridor. And as she turned left...

…she bumped into Seras.

"Ruby!" gasped the blonde as Ruby completely tumbled over the ground clumsily; when she didn't get up after a few seconds, Seras peeled her off the carpet and helped her onto her feet. "What are you doing up so late?"

"S-Seras…" Ruby croaked out, feeling at her teeth with her hand. Her fangs were gone, to her relief. "I'm…_hungry_…"

"Hungry?"

"Seras, when…when you turned…did this happen to y-you?"

"Um…I'm gonna have to say no."

The brunette frowned, feeling slightly angry that this was happening to her only. "I don't think I can…control this…"

"What do you mean?"

"I… I was going to do something bad…I was going to attack that soldier."

"Maybe you just need some rest; I'll take you back to your room."

Ruby shook her head. "…No, I need to talk to Alucard."

Seras tilted her head to the side awkwardly in response, "Talk to Master…? At this time of night?"

She nodded.

"Well…I doubt he sleeps, really. Here, this mirror should lead to his basement." Seras helped Ruby over to the mirror on the wall which she had been describing.

If her memory served her correctly, Ruby recognised this mirror the last time she was at Hellsing manor, although it had been quite some time ago. As soon as the two draculinas arrived in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror that cleverly concealed his alleged lair, Ruby pried it open from the hinges and gawped at the dark passageway.

"Alucard?" She called out breathlessly; she could see nothing but pitch-black space below. "…Alucard, are you there?"

There was no response.

"I don't think he's in, Ruby."

"I'm still going down." She declared, "I need to talk to him."

"Okay…"

"Don't wait for me. You should get some rest too, Seras."

Seras nodded; Ruby left the blonde at the top of the stairs, then made her way downstairs and eventually arrived at the basement. She wondered if he really was not here, and ventured in further to discover his throne. To her surprise, Alucard_** was**_ there. He seemed amused by her dishevelled, ill-looking appearance, as he sat leisurely in his chair with his legs crossed while balancing an empty wine glass in hand.

"You're here." She gasped, dragging in heavy, shallow breaths.

"I sensed you coming."

Before she could reach him, her legs finally gave way and she dropped onto the cold stone floor for the umpteenth time. She groaned, then slowly lifted her head up by pushing off the ground using her elbows, before hanging her head low in defeat. "…I'm…I'm so hungry…"

"Walter should have taken you to the Blood Room." He replied, and when she shook her head, he knew she had refused to drink. "Foolish bride. I drained you until you were almost empty; of course you are hungry."

"…Why?"

"Your blood is mine; I will take as much as I desire. And now, you need blood, _or else._"

"Hey, wait a minute…just because you turned me doesn't mean I belong to you."

"No, you are mistaken. It does mean you belong to me." Alucard replied sternly, "I am your sire. And I forbid you to drink from any other male. If you require blood, you come to me."

She pursed her lips at the thought, "I won't call you 'Master'."

"I did not imagine you would." He replied casually, his grin widening, "Even though you're a draculina, you're still feisty and disobedient. I like it."

_Well… now that I've seen him naked I'm not really scared of him anymore_, she thought to herself with a tired expression on her face. She inhaled a shaky breath, and groaned when the Hunger hit again. Blood…she needed blood right now…

"Do you yield?" He added, and she glanced up. Her fist clenching, all she could do was nod bitterly. This forced a wry smirk to appear on his face, "Then you know what you must do, my bride." Alucard patted his knee invitingly. "_Come closer_."

She dragged herself off the floor, getting up on one knee first, then the other, and stumbled forwards to him as he held his arms out to her. As she neared him, he grabbed her wrist and hauled her into his lap; she sat, feeling rather awkward and odd as he settled her on his knees comfortably before he yanked her tightly against him. Alucard proceeded to wrap his strong arms around her, resting them on the sides of her legs before he dug his hands under her stockings teasingly; although she blushed, she did not think much of this intimate contact…maybe because they'd already been intimate with each other as much as possible that she did not find herself protesting…she merely slumped against him for she could barely keep her eyes open, her eyelids fluttering to a close with fatigue.

He began petting her hair affectionately, making her more sleepy than before, "Ahh, Ruby…my darling Ruby, you knew this was unavoidable. I do not understand why you chose to prolong the inevitable." He purred in her ear as he retreated his hands from her legs to delve under her panties, only for her to flinch away from him, "Hm? No foreplay?"

Ruby withdrew from him with a frown, "I'm starving here."

"Then feast away. You have my consent. Don't mind me." And he pulled his head back so his neck was in full view. "_Drink_."

She swallowed down inwardly, as she stared at his neck. He really did enjoy dangling himself in front of her… Ruby glanced away uncomfortably, but then the Hunger came again and she knew she could not delay it anymore…She opened her mouth, rubbed at her teeth first with her finger nervously to find out they hadn't lengthened but were still little square, blunt shapes in her mouth. How did this work? Did she have to summon her fangs? If she had to, how did one do that? Or maybe they lengthened automatically as soon as it neared a neck? Could her teeth automatically detect necks? But how?

"I'm waiting..." Alucard purred again, as he caressed her, rubbing at her shoulders in lazy circles.

Ruby blushed and swallowed down another lump in her throat, then squeezed her eyes shut and abandoned all fears and thoughts away from the back of her mind, and without abandon, she lunged down and bit down into his neck with her teeth. He did not even flinch. There was a wet, squishing noise akin to something tearing…then fluid began bubbling into her…her…_teeth_?

When Alucard's blood entered her system, the taste of the thick, metallic fluid made her gag and she attempted to withdraw from him, but a hand clamped down over the back of her head, disallowing her to retreat.

"You need to drink." He said sternly, and as his blood continued to flow into her, she shuddered as the coppery taste eventually subsided, and she began to feel rejuvenated and replenished in a matter of seconds. No longer did she feel lethargic or as if her knees would give way at any random moment.

She felt back to normal.

No…even better than normal.  
>She felt…<em>great<em>.

When Ruby finally came to her senses, she realised she was now clutching him tightly, while he was now groping her under her skirt which was pushed up to her waist. Embarrassed, she pulled away from him and tried to tug her skirt back down, but he grabbed her and forced her to return into his lap before he trailed deep, long kisses over the side of her face. She whimpered, trying to wriggle out from his hold but to no success. Instead, she averted her attention to her own mouth as he busied himself in nipping at her neck and hastily wiped at her lips with the back of her hand only to find her hand drenched in blood. She gasped; how much had she taken from him? To her surprise, Alucard let go of her to take her hand before he licked his blood off her.

"Satisfied?"

Ruby blinked at him blankly, then nodded meekly. Her eyelids grew heavy and she closed her eyes with a sigh, before deciding to snuggle against him as he wrapped his arms around her once more.

"Hm."

"What is it?"

"It is…" He began, but then he decided not to continue with his sentence, "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes."

"Did something happen?"

"No. Now, sleep, my bride." He murmured, "…Go to sleep."

She let her eyelids droop when she discovered that her current position was very comfortable, "…Alucard?" She suddenly mumbled out.

"…Yes?"

"I'm a vampire now."

"Yes…"

"I'm going to live forever."

"Yes, you are. You are going to live long and well, and I will be by your side." As he pulled her into his embrace again, she rested her chin on his shoulder, then closed her eyes. It felt good to be in Alucard's arms, to be held so tightly by him, so lovingly…

…but why did she still feel so uneasy about herself?

* * *

><p><strong>Oracle Corporation.<strong>

Mary woke up with a start when she felt an extra presence in her room. Sitting up in bed, she glanced around to notice her window was open, the curtain billowing gently against the cool night breeze. There was a figure in front of her, at the end of her bed, and she gasped, then turned to the right to flick on her nightlight.

"Luther!" She exclaimed, as the white-haired vampire moved to kneel in front of her on one knee, his head low. "…Luther, you're back so early. Did you find her?"

He nodded, then looked up.

"…Thank goodness." She murmured in response, "Come here; tell me what you have to report."

Luther nodded again, then moved closer to her. Removing his black glove, he put his pale hand over her bare arm.

A few minutes later, Mary looked up at him in shock. "…No…it can't be…" She replied.

The vampire closed his eyes, his hand still on her arm.

"Don't say that, it's not your fault you didn't win the auction." She added, and he let go of her arm. "…Thank you, for everything you've done. You've done a lot for us, Luther. Now all we have to do is…tell father, I guess."

He glanced to the side, before an uncomfortable expression blossomed on his young face. Mary blinked questioningly at him, but then –

"…Mas…tuh."

Mary gaped at him in shock upon hearing the noise. "…What was…What was that…?"

Luther tried again, with much difficulty, "Mas…"

She began squealing with laughter in moments and leapt out of bed, then began cheering, and he blinked at her blankly, "Y-You spoke!" Her shock exploded into bewilderment and amazement, a wide grin appearing on her face in seconds. "Luther, you _**spoke!**_"

"Mas…ter." He tried hard; he repeated himself to get the word right, although it seemed to pain him in doing so, seeing how his teeth grated against each other with an ear-splitting grind like nails on a chalkboard. "…_Master_."

Mary threw her arms around him, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Luther… You're so silly…it was okay when I was a kid, but you take this Master and Servant thing so seriously. You can just call me 'Mary'."

He shook his head, "…Mast…Master…w…wuh…we…"

She let go of him and peered at him encouragingly. "Yes?" She said, holding him by the sides of his arms. "_Yes_?"

"…We…sh…sh-shou…shood…leev."

Her grip on his arms loosened then. "…Huh?"

"…Du…Do…Doan…wun you…_hu…hurt_." He grunted out.

Mary blinked owlishly at him for a few seconds, before she smiled at him, and let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Luther. You know I can't leave; this has been my home, since…well,_forever_, and…Caelum is my father…he won't hurt me." She said, with a smile. "My father will never hurt me."


	30. The Psychological Profiling of Caelum

GAHHH I'm so sorry for the extremely late update. This chapter was so hard to get done! Those who have been following this story and are still with me now, well done and thank you. I will go over this story and edit after I am finished. I'm also thinking of becoming a beta. The poll's still open, too, if anyone is interested.

PS. Sorry if there are any mistakes/missing words etc :(

* * *

><p><em>The Psychological Profiling of Caelum<em>

It was the day of his interview and he deliberately arrived fifteen minutes early. As he stood outside the office, he adjusted his tie and smoothed down the lapels of his suit once more before rapping lightly on the door.

A few seconds later, a voice said, "_Come in_," and he opened the door and stepped inside. The office was very large; larger than he had anticipated. At the very end of the room was the desk, and behind it, was the fabled floor-to-ceiling window that granted Oracle the best view of the financial district. The first thing his eyes landed on was the human woman beside the seated president. Oh yes, the human. The president's _human_ daughter. He saw her when she was a child, but saw less and less of her as she grew up, but now he knew. The president's daughter was a ghost of a woman, with her untamed mousy brown hair and poor, sickly-grey eyes.

"State your purpose." murmured the president, who did not even look at him. Instead, he was engrossed with some documents in front of him on the surface of his desk while the human was busy pouring him a cup of coffee.

"I'm here for the interview."

"Oh, right. You're hired."

"Eh? Uh…T-Thank you, sir."

"What is your name?"

"Garth."

A loud hiss from the right made his head whip to the source of the noise; Garth saw a tall, white-haired vampire lurking in the shadows who had been watching him cautiously the entire time since he stepped foot into the room, like a guard dog ready to pounce on marauding invaders. If his memory served him right, this was the right-hand man of Caelum, named Luther. Luther was the one with white hair and pink eyes, and his lower half of his face was always obscured with a black mask with a coiled tube attached to the mouthpiece. Was this his colleague from now on since he had just got the job of Executive Assistant?

"Don't be scared. He won't bite unless I tell him to." The president said, still without looking up from his work, "I have an assignment for you."

He glanced at the president behind the desk. The president was called 'Caelum' but no-one knew him well enough except from his peers to call him by his name, even then they addressed him with a 'Mister' attached. Although Garth had seen him before on the telescreens in the company, the president was a lot younger than he realised. The man was at least in his early twenties and held a boyish demeanour to him. Despite that, he spoke with an archaic feel to his words. Something about the president told him that Caelum was…old. Very old.

"Mary."

"Yes, father?"

"I want you to go to Hellsing manor; Luther will follow. I think it's time to bring them here."

The woman gave him an exceptionally long look before sighing, "…Yes, father."

Caelum turned to Garth next, who froze up on the spot under his stern gaze. "You. Come here. Hold this for me."

Garth blinked numbly as Caelum dumped a small test-tube into his hand. "…Sir?"

"Quiet." hissed the president, who then pulled out a knife from his desk. "I want you to put the mouth of the test-tube to my arm. Right here. Yes, that's right. Hold it steady now."

The vampire watched the president with wide eyes as he levelled the blade on his wrist and sliced at himself, watching the blade glide over his porcelain skin before it tucked into his flesh. The human woman turned away with slight disgust while Luther watched on, strangely unfazed.

Garth stared as Caelum's blood seeped out from his wound and into the test-tube, in long, draining spurts. But as soon as the first small rush of blood gurgled out, Caelum's wound healed in a blink.

"… Take this." The president fitted a rubber cork into the test-tube lid, preventing the blood from sloshing out. Garth gawked at it in his hand as he tried to make sense of what was going on. "Garth, listen carefully now. I want you to take one of the helicopters, and head to the north of Scotland, where you will meet a man; he will know who you are...well, he should. No matter what happens, you must make sure this gets to him. He will know what to do. And when you return, I will have another for you to deliver for me, too."

Garth decided not to question why. "Yes, sir. I'll see to it immediately."

With that, the president gave him a well-deserved smile and a light pat on the shoulder that had the young vampire beaming proudly at himself. "Very good, Garth. You'll do well."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"…Mina…"

Ruby woke up.

Alucard had said something in his sleep.

He had said a name.  
>But it was not her name.<p>

It was another woman's name.

A few hours had passed since she'd drunk from Alucard. No longer tired or weary, or hungry and feeling as though she would lash out and stab her teeth into the next living, breathing, warm-blooded thing she came in contact with, Ruby had woken up from the sound of Alucard's voice to find herself sitting in his lap. How she managed to fall asleep in that position, she had no idea, but witnessing Alucard's sleeping face mere millimetres from her own was rather a sight to behold.

She was snagged in the cage of his arms. Even in his sleep he held her so tightly and so possessively that she remained limp for a few minutes until deciding to slowly inch out of his embrace, to leave him dozing upright on his throne. Holding his arm up by pinching his sleeves, she carefully arranged his arms to lay over the armrests, watching him the entire time incase he would wake up. He did not.

Alucard was handsome and she couldn't help but settle herself on the floor beside one of the armrests, observing him with an almost childish curiosity as she rested her chin on the back of her flattened palm. She watched him sleep, his chest rising gently with each unnecessary, obligating inhale and exhale even though she knew he no longer held breath.

As he slept, she decided to return up the stairs and into the main corridor for some fresh air, yet she still could not go outside in the daylight so resorted to avoiding windows. Generally, there was also no interesting place in Hellsing manor that contained no windows and thus eradicated ninety five per cent of all rooms she could enter. Integra was nowhere to be found. Neither was Walter, or Mr Morris. Or Seras.

With little option, Ruby decided to go visit Joshua, whom she hadn't seen at all since she arrived in Hellsing.

According to Walter, Joshua's quarters were in the basement to the east of Alucard's lair. As she made her way down the stairs, she swallowed down noisily knocking lightly on the door of Joshua's alleged room (it was the only door in the corridor, in fact). His room was also in the same corridor further down from Seras' quarters and she wondered inwardly how Joshua would react knowing that she was a vampire now. The boy held and conveyed such raw, intense emotion about one being a creature of the darkness that she was beginning to get really worried...

And when the door opened, she blinked blankly at the pale face.

"Joshua!" She exclaimed, and everything she had planned to tell him which she had rehearsed in her mind so many times had completely vanished from her mind, leaving it a blank empty slate. "I'm so glad you're in."

To her surprise, he glanced left and right first before asking, "Where's Alucard?"

"He's still sleeping."

Then he said, "So you're a vampire now."

"…Huh? Oh. Yeah. I am."

Ruby gazed at him intently following her rather slow response. He was not smiling nor was he frowning, not that she was particularly good at reading people's facial expressions to find out exactly how they were feeling at the precise moment. Now that she thought about it in more detail, since Joshua had been living for thirty years (maybe more, by now), how he was not frustrated and angry was beyond her. Or maybe he was and did not show it. If so, the boy was very clever and held a strong emotion intelligence she wished she could possess but ultimately could not, or not until, she presumed, a long time had passed. Surely the boy would be frustrated to be having to sit through countless of high school years over and over again.

It was then Ruby also realised Joshua was giving her a sour look and she threw her gaze down to the shoes. "I know you're angry."

"You had your reasons, right?" Joshua said, "It was because of HIM, wasn't it?"

"…Please understand, Josh."

"I do." He replied, and Ruby was beginning to inwardly breathe a sigh of relief until – "But I still don't get what's so great about him that you would do anything for him, Ruby, like become one of_ us_."

The way he had said 'us' seemed to make Ruby feel like an outsider. Apparently Joshua still bore somewhat ill feelings towards Alucard despite being a vampire and despite the fact that he was living under the same roof as him; Ruby pondered what she could possibly do to alleviate the hostility between them. "I'll still be the same person, Josh. I'm still Ruby."

"Well, are you still going to study and become a nurse?"

Ruby hesitated.

And just like that, she was hit with a gruesome and devastating realisation that made her step back slightly and her mouth hang open somewhat. She hadn't been to class for a long time. She hadn't heard from Gwen. But none of those really mattered, for the answer was simply _no_. How could she be a nurse now…if the mere sight and stench of blood set her senses tingling, her Hunger rumbling, her fangs lengthening? She could not even control herself. If she even could resume her studies, she didn't think it would be plausible for her to continue on with such an occupation regardless…

"Do you even know what you have just done?" Joshua added, growing angrier and angrier by the minute, "Do you have ANY idea what you have done to yourself? To your friends, to your family, to…to everybody who care about you?"

Ruby began to hold her arms up and shake them to and fro. "Ahh! Josh, please – "

"You don't understand." He added, "And now you're going to live forever and see everyone you love die one by one and then when the years go by and you've lived for over twenty years with no change you're going to feel really lonely and angry at yourself and you can't talk to anyone because they're not the same as you and – "

He stopped when Ruby threw her arms around him, blinking wide-eyed in her embrace. "…?"

"Josh…its okay…I knew what I was doing." She held the boy tightly in her grasp. She waited for him to respond, but nothing happened. He was as still as a statue, and she was worried he really hadn't the heart to forgive her, but then -

"….…I thought you were different." He mumbled.

"I know, but…I do love Alucard, and I love you too."

Joshua's cheeks went from their natural pale hue to a faint, crimson shade. "H-HUH?" He almost shrieked out loud as he peeled himself out from her grip and turned away, spluttering and muttering incoherently under his breath.

"What I mean is, you're really important to me. You're like the little brother I never had." She explained, and he began to calm down; the dracul was now simply blinking blankly at her, "And I can understand why you're angry, but it was my decision, and I know what the consequences are. I'm prepared to go through with them."

Joshua gawped at her then, his expression transitioning to stunned, fixated silence to shock in seconds. "…But…"

"I know how bitter you are about being a vampire, Josh. I know."

As he continued to watch her, he couldn't help but notice Ruby seemed to have changed slightly since the last time he saw her. He could tell she was still somewhat immature then but now she seemed to possess an almost jaded acceptance about her situation that he felt a little guilty for his outburst at the beginning when she came to see him. "…I'm sorry I yelled at you." He mumbled.

"It's okay. I understand."

A silence spawned between the two, until Joshua looked up. "…Can I get another hug?" He asked sheepishly.

She laughed, then nodded. Ruby held her arms out and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, which she found to be a little uncharacteristic for her to do. For once, she ultimately realised she had not even initiated a hug with Alucard before. She mentally argued her case that the vampire seemed intent on insisting that he was the dominant one in the relationship and did not tolerate it when women threw themselves at him…but still…

Joshua felt small all of a sudden in her arms. Despite knowing that he was over forty years old in age, she had always viewed him as a potential little brother and she had come to believe that he too felt a sense of familial obligation towards her. They pulled away from each other a few minutes later and he asked, "…So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. What did you do when you first turned?"

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly in response, "…Er…well, I can't really remember." Joshua said sheepishly. "Sir Integra said you don't remember what happened during the tournament. Well, just to fill you in; Mr Morris and I almost died. We're okay now, but yes, we almost died."

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a long story." Joshua moved to the side and held open his door for her. "Do you want to go inside?"

Before Ruby could speak, an arm snaked around her waist from out of nowhere and she whipped round to see Alucard who was suddenly standing behind her.

"Alucard?" Ruby and Joshua exclaimed in unison.

The elder vampire grinned at them both before pulling Ruby closer to him, her back pressing against his chest. "So this is where you wandered off to…" He purred, nipping lightly at the shell of her ear with his fangs while Joshua's expression scrunched up slightly in response, his eye twitching.

"Yeesh, get a room." The dracul grunted, before turning to Ruby. "I'll talk to you later."

"Sure..." She watched Joshua retreat into his room before throwing a quick glance to Alucard; she then remembered he had said the name 'Mina' earlier on and stiffened slightly as he leaned over and began to trail kisses down her neck. "…What are you doing here?"

His lips formed a devilish grin. "I woke up only to find you missing from my side. I did not give you permission to leave the basement…" Although they had been intimate before, Ruby quivered and squirmed in his hold uncomfortably. He let go of her slowly once she had struggled, his eyebrows furrowing. "…What's the matter?"

She stopped struggling at once. "…Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah."

He could sense something was wrong. She didn't have to tell him; Ruby was a very open, predictable and honest person, and it was very obvious whenever there was a problem or some unfortunate happening. Her facial expressions and mannerisms gave everything away and her mood was always easy to discern. "…You are in doubt."

"What? No, I'm not in doubt."

"Shall I remind you why I have turned you?" Alucard purred eagerly, before he pressed her against the wall, pinning her against the cold brick with his large frame. Now that she was turned, he had almost forgotten to mark her properly; he cupped her head with his large palm and brought her head back and began to bite at her exposed neck affectionately.

Ruby did not seem to respond in the way he wanted her to. He had been expecting her to begin moaning and simpering under his touch as he liked it; instead, she began her useless struggling and trembling again, with clear dislike and protest to what he was doing.

He shifted his grip from her waist and grasped at the sides of her cheeks, brushing away hair from her face in progress. "…Ruby," He said sternly, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head.

"_Tell me_." He demanded, almost on the verge of growling as his voice went gravelly and low in seconds, "Tell me now."

Eventually, she squeaked out, "…I…don't feel like a vampire. I'm…clumsy and awkward and I'm nothing like the vampires in books or TV - "

"And why do you believe vampires who appear on 'television' or books is the accurate embodiment of how and what a vampire should be?"

She shrugged. "…I don't know."

"Your fear is unnecessary and irrational. Is that all?" He questioned, and when she fell into silence once more, he prodded at her again. "What else is there?"

"I…I heard you say Mina's name in your sleep."

A steely silence followed.

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. _Oh no, s_he thought, _I should not have said that. Here comes an argument…_

To her surprise, Alucard let go of her and stepped back; she re-opened her eyes and blinked at him meekly. "…Mina..." He murmured under his breath, "…Mina is a significant individual; she is an aspect of my history, which I cannot deny, change or undo."

She was relatively surprised he'd said that. She had thought he would be defensive, that he would deny he had done such a thing or claim that she had heard wrong. For some reason, she felt awful herself that she had even mentioned this to him now. The feeling worsened tenfold when his lips twisted into a dark grin, and she inwardly grimaced. "…What?" She mumbled.

"How adorable. You are afraid and jealous."

Her face went slightly red in response. "Wha - ? No, I'm not."

"You can deny it all you want. But truth to be told, Ruby, my memory of Mina is very vivid."

She bit down on her lip and turned away from him with her arms crossed, "…Alucard, why are you telling me this?"

"I am telling you this as I do not understand why you are upset."

"I'm not upset."

"Mina no longer exists in this world. You have no competition."

"That's _not_ what I meant."

"Then what are your qualms?" He questioned as he wrapped her in his arms again before pulling the edges of his unbuttoned cloak around her, goading her for a response,

"So… basically you're just telling me to accept that Mina will be…well, she…" Ruby left her sentence trailing as he began to nuzzle her neck warmly. She had forgotten what she was going to say. Whatever he was doing, it was actually confusing her. She no longer knew whether she was angry at Alucard. Instead, she felt she was thinking too much. Admitting defeat, Ruby lowered her head and turned away, pondering to herself.

"…Very well." He said again, realising she was still not swayed. "I will show you something."

She was too distracted in her thoughts to realise they were no longer in the dark, dank corridor, but in a brightly lit room which Ruby had been in before. She blinked, still bundled up in Alucard's arms with his cloak wrapped around her. He slowly loosened his grip on her and smirked as she perked up to glance around. The treasury. It was the same room where Integra kept her ancestor's treasures which had been gathered over time, including Abraham Van Helsing's silver cross, which was sealed and protected behind the glass cabinet, sitting proudly on the cushion of red velvet. "Why are we here?"

"I have something for you." He let go of her and strode to a grand, elaborate armoire near the open door, and as Ruby was left alone, she backed away from the direction of the silver cross, as though repelled by some invisible, divine force. A little grip on his arm made him look up, and Alucard chuckled when he saw his mate clutching tightly at his arm, giving uneasy glimpses to the cross over her shoulder.

"I shouldn't be here." She hissed quietly, "…Look, the door's even open. Someone must have been in here. They're bound to come back."

"This will be your accommodation from now on so you are allowed access to every room in this mansion. You need not worry." He replied, as she continued to glance around warily. A few minutes later and he plucked her hand off his arm which was still gripping him like a clamp, and then he slipped something cool around one of her fingers. Ruby glanced down to her hand subsequently and gasped.

There was a ring on her forefinger.

Her mouth fell open in shock. "…What is this?"

"It is a ring."

"Huh? But why?"

"It is yours, because you are my Queen."

Her face felt unusually warm. "…I…I can't accept this." She muttered anxiously. The fang had already been enough of a gift. Now a ring was just… she had no words to explain her shock. The ring… there were no jewels on it…it was merely a plain ring, but with an inscription on it. However, she could tell the ring itself was handcrafted. She squinted her eye at the dirty gold ring around her finger. Not that she meant 'dirty' in the literal sense, but it would have been her exact choice of words, for it looked old.

He raised an eyebrow in response, "Why not?" Her modesty was baffling sometimes.

Her lower lip trembled. "…It looks expensive."

Alucard chuckled and patted her head affectionately, "It is a treasured possession I brought with me when I moved from Romania to London. Since then, it has remained here in my master's treasury, ownerless."

Ruby's jaw dropped in shock once more following his statement. "This is from your castle?"

"Yes. I, too, am surprised by how long this gold can last…" Alucard said, holding her hand and turning it back and front gently. The ring glimmered faintly under the gleaming light of the treasury room.

"B-But I can't accept something like this." And she was about to take it off when he stopped her by cupping his hand around hers.

"I want you to keep it, and wear it everyday." He said, gazing deeply into her eyes that she felt lost and hazy, "…If you wore it, it would make me very happy."

She couldn't help but blush fiercely. Now she truly felt bad for bringing up the subject of Mina. "…Alright. But what does it say?" She gestured to the inscription she noticed on the band of the ring.

"'_To my dearly beloved_'."

Her blush increased, yet she still managed to squeak out, "Romanian?"

"Old Romanian."

"Oh, I see." She said, her mouth forming a tiny 'o', "So…how would you write your name in Old Romanian, then?"

He watched her intently. "You wish to know?"

Ruby nodded.

Alucard glanced around the room before turning to the armoire where he had fished out the ring; he delved one probing hand into the contents of one drawer and rummaged around without much care, and found a piece of discarded paper and a blunt pencil, then promptly wrote something down. She watched him curiously, and when he was finished, Alucard placed the pencil back down and presented it to her.

She had never seen Alucard writing, or his handwriting before, so this was new. His handwriting was neat, but she did not know what exactly he had written meant. "…What does it say?"

"_Vlad Tepes_." He said proudly, "_Voivode of Wallachia_."

"That's your name? As in…your real name?"

"Yes."

"Then…should I call you 'Vlad' instead?"

"'_Alucard_' is fine." He replied, although…having Ruby call him 'Vlad' wouldn't be such a bad idea after all…

Ruby watched him steadily for a few minutes, then lowered her gaze to the ring on her finger. "Thank you. It's lovely." She said, a little awkwardly for she had never received such a gift before in her entire life. "…I'm sorry for bringing up Mina."

Alucard's lips cracked into a grin. "…You apologise for every meaningless thing." He chided at her, before he pulled her into his arms. She sunk into his embrace and giggled as he pressed his lips against her cheek affectionately. He mused to himself, "Nonetheless, it was assuring to witness your envy."

She wriggled slightly in his hold. "…Assuring?"

He dipped his head down to work his lips over her nape, "Yes." He planted another sensual kiss over her flesh, "…Yes, it is."

However, they were interrupted by quick footsteps rushing through the corridor outside the room. Alucard paid no attention to the sounds yet Ruby glanced up as the trample of footsteps grew louder and louder, coupled with frantic yells and shouts. "What's going on?" She asked.

"I believe a squad has just returned from a mission." Alucard murmured in response. Much to his vexation, Ruby pulled out from his hold and strode towards the door where there were indeed, soldiers in their uniforms stampeding down the hallway towards the direction of the main hall.

"Does this happen all the time?"

Alucard chuckled lightly in response, "Yes. Never mind them."

Ruby didn't seem to notice. "Wait - " She hopped out of the doorway and squeezed herself through into the throng of soldiers although Alucard was calling for her to return. She twisted round to him and nodded, "I'll be right back!" She yelled, and then proceeded to dive through and manoeuvre within the crowd into the hall, where a group of uniformed men with guns slung over their shoulders were standing unmoving– two of them were holding up an unconscious soldier by the arms.

"Help! We need help!" They were calling, and Ruby stopped shortly in front of them.

"What happened?" She asked, as she cast her concerned glance to the unconscious man; he was bleeding from the stomach. "I can help."

The two soldiers turned to each other, and Ruby wondered what was stalling their responses, until she realised one was actually eyeing her down from head to toe. She swallowed down uncomfortably and stepped back, and the soldier grinned, winked at her and said, "That's real cute, but you just let us big boys handle it, 'kay?"

"But – "

"Say, what's your name? You new around here? My name's Alex, and I'm a high-ranking - "

He was immediately elbowed by his non-unconscious companion who was also holding up their fallen ally. "Dude! What are you doing? Stop that! Didn't you hear? That's the new bride of Alucard!"

The man named Alex stopped grinning at Ruby then, his expression contorting with confusion, and shock, "Wha - ?"

However, he was interrupted by another voice: "What's going on here?"

The group looked up to the source; a man in a white coat with a stethoscope looped around his neck was walking down the stairs quickly towards them. "What's going on?" He repeated himself as he arrived at the last step, before he took one look at the unconscious, bleeding soldier, "What are you doing dawdling here? Get this man to the infirmary right away!"

"Y-yes, Dr Seward."

With that, the rookie soldiers hurried away with their fallen comrade, and the man in the white coat turned to Ruby. She blinked at him as he approached her; the man was handsome and young although Ruby figured he was perhaps Morris' age, perhaps a little older, as he appeared far more solemn and mature in some aspects compared to the demeanour of the vampire hunter. His eyes were blue and distant and he held a soft, but stern gaze. He said, "My name is Jack Seward; I am the residential doctor of Hellsing. I don't believe we've met."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ruby."

"Ah." said Seward, as they shook hands, "Integra told me you were studying to become a nurse."

"Yes, I am."

"If you wish to come to the infirmary, you are more than welcome to."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, since you are here, you may as well make yourself useful." Despite those words, Seward spoke with no spite in his tone, and Ruby understood that he indisputably meant well.

"Really?" Her face lit up consequently, "I can come and help? Even though I'm…I'm…"

Seward did not smile in response to her growing enthusiasm, however. "I don't see why not. We always need an extra pair of hands around here, regardless if one is human or not, and I would appreciate the help."

She couldn't believe her ears. "Wow! Y-Yes! I'd love to, thank you so much, Dr Seward – I'd – " She was cut off by a hand on her shoulder and turned round to see a familiar vampire behind her. "Oh, Alucard, you're here."

The grip on her shoulder increased. "What did you think you were doing, Ruby? Somehow you have come to the belief that you are allowed to leave my side whenever you wish…" He murmured, as he lifted her away from the doctor and dropped her behind him.

"...Alucard, Dr Seward said I could help out at the infirmary."

Turning to the doctor himself, Alucard gave him an acknowledging grin in response, "…Dr Seward. That's very generous of you, but I'm afraid Ruby won't be able to join you today. She is not well."

"I see." Seward replied, without probing any further, "Very good. I shall be on my way. You know where to find me if anything comes up."

Ruby watched the doctor leave before turning to Alucard meekly. "What do you mean I'm not well? I'm perfectly fine."

He took her hand and began to lead her towards the treasury room. "You are fine because you have just had your fill. Should you be hungry, you would turn mad from the mere sight of blood. Should anything happen, the consequences would be catastrophic." He murmured, "Compared to Police Girl and the Sniffer Dog, your constitution is rather weak."

Her eyebrow rose delicately. "…What."

"Do not misunderstand me; I am merely issuing a precaution, that's all. Not everyone is the same and I respect that. If you want to build a larger level of tolerance, I'll be pleased to offer you…_private lessons_, Ruby. Perhaps then you can master self-control over your own will…then I shall contemplate setting you loose on the unsuspecting patients upstairs." He purred, throwing a quick glance to her over his shoulder.

"…How come everything you say that's meant to be at least innocent or genuine always comes out wrong or dirty?"

He chuckled and turned round to scoop her into his arms as the soldiers continued to pass them, trudging towards the direction of their own quarters with their mucky boots. "Let's return to the basement, shall we?"

"Can I ask a question first?"

"Yes?"

"Will I be able to walk through walls?"

"No, not yet. Unfortunately, you are the lowest of all vampires, Ruby. This status will erode away in time."

She sighed gently, and was about to open her mouth to speak once more but -

"There you are."

Ruby and Alucard threw glances up to the staircase exactly where Dr Seward had been, now, Integra was standing at the top of the stairs, but she did not go towards them. Instead, she gestured for them to follow her. "We need to talk, my servant. Miss Ashcroft, you need to come with us too."

…

In the office, Alucard and Ruby arrived inside to see Seras, Walter and Morris. Joshua was not present. Walter was by Integra's side as usual, whilst Morris was beside Seras in his wheelchair, waving at the two cheerfully although seeing Morris confined to a wheelchair was a little unsettling for Ruby, especially since she had recovered from her own accident. That was true; she once had a permanent limp and despised herself for it. How on earth would Morris be feeling? She continued to watch as Morris' lengthy space between himself and the table because of his outstretched, supported broken leg kept him from reaching the can of fizzy juice on Integra's desk, his fingers grappling at thin air.

Seras reached over and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Miss Victoria."

"You're welcome." She smiled warmly in return.

Integra seated herself behind the desk while Alucard sat down in front of Integra; Ruby took the spare seat beside him. The director then turned to Walter, who nodded and began to hand everyone in the meeting room photocopies of a few documents stapled together. "We're doing all we can to find your parents, Miss Ashcroft." Integra said first, noticing Ruby's worried look.

"What is this, sir?" She asked, rifling through the stapled papers. It was at least four pages long.

"We've done a psychological profile of Caelum."

Alucard let out a snicker in response as his photocopy lay limp in his lap. Instead, he merely stretched back in his seat with his leg crossed over the other and his hands clasped together neatly.

"Would you care to tell what you find so amusing, Alucard?" Integra asked, a little tiredly, as she flicked her steely gaze to him.

"Morris laboured all day and night for this?"

"If it helps us find out more about Caelum, then – "

"There is no need, my master. From my confrontation with the vampire on the island, I can deduce precisely what kind of 'man' he is."

"And…?"

"He is mad."

Integra sighed, "…Alucard, please listen to what I have to say." She said, "If it is true that he is as old as you, and if it is true that he was a member of the Black Flame Guardians, and protected humans, then I cannot come to understand what drove him to become what he has become now."

"…Not everybody needs a reason to do bad things…" Seras mumbled half-heartedly under her breath.

"Another thing we are still unsure of is the exact time the Guardians moved from Romania, to the Northern border of Scotland. When they lived in the mountains, the humans of the village would provide them with sacrifices on the shrine on a regular basis. Whether these sacrifices passed away from natural or unnatural causes, we aren't sure of that either."

Ruby was staring at the first page intently before she glanced at Morris, who was jotting down notes in pencil: _Sacrifices – Murdered? Or killed by natural causes, ie, illness, old age, accident?_

"That creature might hold more information." Alucard said, as Seras gulped down.

"Master, you mean Mr Thade?"

"That's right, Police Girl."

"…We're going back?" Seras squeaked, "B-But…"

"No-one's going back to Bal'allan." Integra snapped, before she cleared her throat. "…Right. Moving onto page two now. During the period sometime after, or before, the Second World War, Caelum developed a relationship with a girl who lived in the village; her name was Emilia Rosenthal, who was engaged to Anthony Rosenthal. She was raped."

A short silence followed that statement.

"Again…whether Caelum was aware or unaware of Emilia's marital status, is unsure. Regardless, Emilia told Mordecai Rosenthal, Anthony's little brother, who in turn performed an abortion. From Morris' vivisection – "

Alucard, Seras and Ruby turned to Morris then, who blinked at them. "…What?"

" – the foetus was only a week old." Integra finished, "Mordecai Rosenthal kept it, then told his older brother, prompting him to contact Hellsing; my father destroyed their hideout in the mountains of Bal'allan, but Caelum was conveniently missed. How that came to be, I do not know yet either. And after the events of Bal'allan, Caelum was taken away by another facility that experimented on vampires, which Walter is working on at the precise moment."

The butler bowed respectively then.

Morris put a hand to his chin as though in deep thought, "Might I add to your list that he seems to despise humans but doesn't appear to act on it…this is probably stemming from the desecration of his people, and from his treatment at the facility. He has also accepted responsibility for turning Joshua, manipulating his father, the massacre of the Harker's, and stealing the knife…and mine, most likely."

"Yes, but he abducted the youngest daughter of the Rosenthal's, too. The description of the kidnapper fits Caelum perfectly."

"Do you think she's still alive?"

"Not at this rate, no. I contacted the Metropolitan Police, but it is as Madison Rosenthal said; the disappearance of the infant was not raised at all. Now, I'd like to move on to Miss Ashcroft – " She was disrupted in her sentence by the ringing of her phone beside her on the desk. "…Excuse me."

Everyone remained silent as Integra picked up the phone.

"Hello? Yes?" She said, before her eyes narrowed. "…Yes, yes, I see…" As her expression continued to darken, Ruby turned to Alucard worriedly, who reached over and intertwined his long fingers with hers, giving her hand a tight squeeze. Finally, Integra replaced the phone and turned to the group before her. "We have a visitor. Walter, if you would kindly bring her here via the Public entrance."

"Yes, mi'lady."

Ruby asked, "…Who is it?"

And Integra replied, "A woman I believe you are familiar with, Miss Ashcroft."

* * *

><p><strong>Bal'allan Mountains.<strong>

"Are you the one?"

"Tha's me."

"Who are you?"

"_Who are you_?"

"My name is Garth." He replied and the thing grabbed his hand and shook it warmly. When it finally let go, Garth stared at his porcelain hand which was now covered in dirt, grit and something…slimy. He shuddered inwardly.

"Nice to meet ye, Garthy. Me name's Thade. So, what does it stand fae? Garfield?"

"…No." Garth eyed the vampire from head to toe. He was very beetle-like, with shifty eyes and a disturbing, dishevelled and almost emaciated appearance. His eyes were sunken in and somewhat hollow, his cheeks equally as undeterminable as the rest of his facial features were. How was this thing an associate of Caelum's? "Mr Caelum told me to hand this to you, Mr Thade."

"Yeh, thank you, I owe you wan."

Garth watched Thade slip the testtube into his flimsy pocket. "…Can I ask why?"

The ugly vampire turned back to the prim and proper, black-suited Garth, who stiffened under his orb-less gaze. "Heck no." Thade barked, as he began to make his way back up the mountain with the tube of blood Garth had handed him, whistling cheerfully, "You mind yer own beeswax, like Mr Caelum tells ye tae. Let the adults git on wi' their business…"

* * *

><p>So, yes, Oh My Alucard contains undertones of child abduction, human trafficking and rape… I find those, for a fanfiction, is too much taboo to write about myself but the story must go on.<p>

1. I'm actually unsure about the relationship between Mina and Dracula. In this story, however, Ruby won't say it but she gets the feeling that although Alucard told her he does not care for Mina, a part of him will always still love/remember Mina

2. New character! Garth. He is taking over Ermen's position.


	31. And The Truth Shall Set You Free

A lot happens so it's hard-hitting and fast. I won't stop for explanations until my author notes.

* * *

><p><em>And The Truth Shall Set You Free<em>

**Oracle Corp.**

The office was in chaos.

_Where is it?_ Caelum was upturning and rummaging file after file on his desk; not long after he saw off Mary and Luther did he decide to go through his archive, and a good thing he decided to, or else this would have gone completely unnoticed. _This can't be. How could this happen?_

But there was no doubt about it.  
>It was gone.<p>

He sat in his swivel chair, staring at all the papers and reports that were scattered messily on his desk, feeling strangely angry and even…confused.

_Someone has stolen it?_

* * *

><p>As everyone waited patiently for the visitor to be brought up by Walter; Ruby was waiting anxiously in her seat. How could everyone be so calm and composed at a time like this? Her parents were missing. Her memories were in shambles. She could not remember being on an island, or being in a 'bride auction' or what had happened before the alleged auction. She had no idea what was going on and no-one was even bothering to tell her, too. Feeling ignored and unimportant, Ruby sat trembling in her seat. Her only sense of being in the meeting room as well as everyone else was brought to her by a tight squeeze of the hand and she glanced up at Alucard.<p>

"You do not look well. Are you hungry again?" He questioned, in which she responded with a little shake of her head.

"…No." She said, and when there was a loud knock on the door, she leapt up in her seat.

"Come in." Integra said, and Ruby's stomach twisted into a tight knot. To her relief, it was only a soldier who had poked his head into the room. He was carrying an A4 sized manila folder in hand.

"This is for you, sir." said the soldier. "I passed it through to security; it's clear."

"Thank you. Bring it here."

"Uh…We were actually patrolling and found this lying outside the gates." He explained as he handed her the folder. Integra dismissed him and then gazed at the envelope in front of her.

"What is it?" Morris asked, as Integra began to slice open the envelope's sealed flap with a letter opener from her stationary cupboard. Once she pulled out the contents from inside – which turned out to be a single sheet of paper – her eyes widened behind her glasses for it said:

**CERTIFICATE OF DEATH**

**DECEDENT'S NAME: RUBY ASHCROFT**

Morris lifted himself up slightly in his wheelchair following Integra's mute, albeit interesting response. "Integra? Come on, tell us."

"Sit down." Integra barked at him, and Morris plopped back down in his seat immediately, blinking numbly at the director. She returned her attention to the flimsy sheet in hand. _What is the meaning of this? _Integra studied the certificate with more scrutiny. Meanwhile, Ruby was staring at her with an equal, curious tenor that would've rivalled Morris.

Integra stared at the name of the parents: _Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft._

At first, she considered this to be a hoax. Some sick joke. Someone who seemed to despise Ruby as the girl had been a target in many instances.

But after a longer inspection, she deduced the certificate **was** real, and it was dated back to more than twenty years ago. What did this mean? Who sent this? And why now? She was temporarily brought out of her thoughts when the door to the meeting room opened once again and Walter entered, with an unfamiliar figure trailing behind him.

"Mary?" Ruby was the first to speak as soon as she settled her eyes on the newcomer. "Mary? What are you doing here?"

The woman called Mary smiled dryly at her. "Hello, Ruby."

Integra immediately folded the sheet back into the envelope and hid it away from prowling eyes, opting to place it under a few books on her desk. What now? Anything that needed an explanation, she would get it soon. "Calm down, Miss Ashcroft," She said steadily, "I have invited your carer to Hellsing for I have a few questions I'd like to ask her."

"Huh? B-but what about my parents?" The draculina asked, "What's going on? I have no idea what's going on…"

"Alucard, if you could take Ruby outside for the moment…Seras, you are dismissed, too."

Ruby and Seras looked a little startled by Integra's decision to have everyone leave, except from Alucard, who gave Integra a long, and rather calculating look. However, he was the first to rise from his seat. "Very well, my master. Ruby, let's go. Police Girl, you are coming with us, too."

"…But…" Ruby was ushered out of the room by Alucard despite her protests.

As everyone began to leave, Integra noticed Morris was now beginning to wheel himself out too. She quickly said, "Except you, Morris, you stay."

Morris stopped and turned round to her in acute surprise. "Really?" He wheeled himself back to his previous spot and waited quietly as the vampires began to leave the room.

Once they were outside the meeting room, Alucard shut the door behind him whilst Ruby bit nervously at her lip. "What gives?" She demanded as they stood closely at the closed door, "What's going on here?"

"My master has something ingenious planned. Do not worry." Alucard reassured her, while Seras pressed her ear against the door in a bid to listen.

But Ruby was still not swayed. She shook her head, frowning, and crossed her arms. "Like what? What plan? This sucks. My parents are missing, now Mary is here for some unknown reason, and now we've been told to leave." She mumbled, "…I don't get what's going on."

"It's okay, Ruby." Seras whispered in response, "Sir Integra knows what she's doing."

"Yes. Master has her reasons." Alucard agreed, before he began to make his way down the corridor.

Ruby watched his retreating back for a few seconds. "…Where are you going?"

"I am returning to the treasury."

"Why?"

He threw her a quick glance from his shoulder and smirked, "I do believe there is a necklace that matches the ring I gave you."

"Eh?" She squeaked, before deciding to follow him, "Alucard! You don't have to – Alucard, wait up!"

* * *

><p><strong>Integra's office.<strong>

"Ms Lynch, please, take a seat."

"Thank you, sir." The woman moved to sit in one of the now-empty seats while Walter retreated to Integra's side.

"I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Oh yes, sir, it was nice."

As Integra spoke, she realised Morris was giving her occasional glances from the corner of his eye. She knew what he meant all too well. "My name is Integral Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing. I understand that the parents of Miss Ashcroft have recently gone missing and so I have invited you to come here today so I can clarify some things."

"Of course."

"I'd like to ask how long you worked for Ruby's parents."

"A couple of years, about four or five."

"That's quite a long time to stay in for an occupation as such. How did you get the job in the first place?"

"Ruby's mother is a good friend of mine."

"I see. What age was Ruby when you were her carer?"

"She was seven years old."

"How many hours did you work?"

"Her parents often worked full-time, twelve-hour shifts so I looked after Ruby almost twenty-four seven."

"And what was Ruby like when she was younger?"

"Oh, she was a very sweet child," Mary replied, with a growing smile on her face, "She was very easy to look after. She was always on her best behaviour and did so well at school – "

"Because her father made it clear he despised her?"

Mary blinked blankly at the director. Integra's bluntness had caught her completely off guard. "…I beg your pardon? He did not despise her. That's ridiculous."

"No. You seem oblivious." Integra remarked, "You were her carer but you don't even know that Ruby did not get on well with her father?"

"What makes you – "

"When she was younger, Ruby worked hard in order to gain her father's affection. Her efforts were futile."

"Well…"

Morris held his hand up as the conversation went on, "Integra, is this really necessary?"

"_Yes_." She asserted, without batting an eyelid or budging in her seat, and Morris fell silent again, "As a full-time carer, Ms Lynch, you did not see or perceive that Ruby had a constrained relationship with her father? You did not attempt to mend this sabotaged relationship between father and daughter? Did you even mention this to her mother?"

"I…"

"Did you deliberately cast a blind eye to this?" Integra pressed on purposely, "_Did you_? Were you afraid to mention this because Mrs Ashcroft was your _friend_? Did you think it would create problems so you kept quiet? Or did you simply think that Ruby _deserved_ this neglect?"

"No of course not! It just couldn't be helped!" Mary suddenly exclaimed abruptly, only to gasp in shock at her own outburst.

Integra smirked inwardly whilst Morris was now blinking wide-eyed at the carer. She seemed surprised at herself and settled back into an uncomfortable silence. "You do care for Ruby, don't you?" Integra asked.

"…I love her as though she is my own."

"So what do you think about this?" Integra then held up the death certificate.

The room fell silent.

Mary's jaw fell slack and she stammered out, "W-where did you - "

She was interrupted by a loud noise before the entire room was engulfed in a horrible wail from the security alarm fixed on the ceiling which had begun screeching erratically; the bright crimson light inside was flashing constantly, bathing the meeting room's inhabitants in a sea of red. Morris winced under the loudness of the siren while Mary glanced around cautiously.

"What's going on?"

However, Integra was at her phone immediately, holding down on one of the buttons in particular. "Security. What have you to report?" She spoke quickly and loudly into the receiver, although she wondered if they could have heard her from the background noise of the wailing siren.

The receiver buzzed into life almost immediately. "Sir! One of the rooms downstairs just blew up…" The receiver went fuzzy with static before Integra made out the following indistinct words: "There he is! He's on the ground floor! Get 'im, Johnny! Don't let him escape!" Then the receiver promptly went dead, the static echoing monotonously like a flatline.

Integra let go of the button immediately while Mary and Morris watched her with somewhat ghastly expressions on their faces. "Walter." The Director said calmly, "It seems we have an intruder; I want you to escort Morris somewhere safe."

The vampire hunter shook his head, "No, it's okay, I can wheel – "

"Morris, be quiet and do as I say." Integra barked, before she turned to the old butler sternly, "I know what I am doing."

"Yes, mi'lady." The butler smoothly manoeuvred his way around the desk to arrive behind Morris. Grasping the two sponge-filled handlebars of his wheelchair, Walter began to casually wheel away a reluctant Morris who began to throw worried glances over his shoulder.

Integra finally turned to Mary, whose face seemed to have drained of colour. "Ms Lynch, I will have one of my best people escort you to a safer location while we deal with this threat."

"O-oh, yes, of course…"

"Seras!" Integra then called, and a familiar blonde girl bounded through the open door and into the meeting room in a few seconds.

"Yes, sir?" She exclaimed breathlessly with a salute, while Integra smirked.

"Seras, please take Ms Lynch somewhere safe; take the route on the ground floor, in the east wing..."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"Put it on."

"No, I can't accept it."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

They were interrupted by a loud explosion from outside that sent the walls shaking, dust flying from the ceiling. Ruby was temporarily thrown off balance until Alucard caught her. As soon as the explosion sounded off, the manor plunged into silence. Alucard's eyes narrowed immediately, and he let go of her arm, leaving her to stand meekly near the door.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, and suddenly, the door to the treasury room slammed shut automatically followed by a steel door which came shooting downwards from the ceiling of the doorframe. She squeaked and stepped away just as more steel doors came dropping down; then, a loud siren began blaring in the room. "What's going on?"

"That was the security activating. There must be an intruder."

Ruby began to worry immediately. "What the - ? Are we stuck in here? This is even worse than being stuck in a jammed elevator!" She wailed over the noise, as she scrambled to find a lock or handle on the third steel door. There didn't appear to be any. "Oh noooo!"

"It cannot be unlocked from inside." Alucard replied, while she continued to wail and flail, "Wait here; I will have to speak to my master; she is the only one who knows the combination."

Ruby made a noise as she watched Alucard dissolve into the shadows.

On her own, Ruby glanced around uneasily, wincing under the loudness of the siren affixed to the ceiling of the tiny, cramped room... A few minutes later and there was a loud '_boom_' noise, identical to the noise earlier on. The walls shook again, and Ruby wobbled slightly as the ground beneath her feet trembled and quaked. Once the impact stopped, the manor went still and Ruby glanced around. She whimpered, realising she disliked being left alone for too long this particular moment, and wished Alucard would return soon.

A few seconds later, and she could hear some vague yelling from outside, coupled with some raucous footsteps.

"_Quickly_!"

It sounded a lot like Seras.

"_This way, Ms Lynch_!"

Ruby gasped and then scrabbled up to the door and pressed her ear against the steel. "Seras! Mary!" She shouted, hoping the draculina or her carer would be able to hear her. "Help! I'm in here!"

But Seras didn't seem to hear. Instead, the footsteps appeared to be passing the treasury room and Ruby began to panic until –

"_What the_…?" Seras' voice exclaimed and the frantic footsteps stopped, "_Ms Lynch, stay behind me_! _Sir Integra, I found him! It's Luther! We're just at the treasury room and he's heading toward us! Permission to engage target, sir!_" Following that was a rather long pause, "_Yes, sir. I'll deal with him right away_!"

What was going on outside? What was Luther doing here? Was he the intruder? Ruby continued to listen carefully but could determine nothing except from a few shuffles, a few grunts and noises that sounded like blows being exchanged before there was another 'boom' followed by a 'THUD!'. Ruby held in a breath. "...Seras? Seras, are you alright? Seras! Answer me!" She scoured the steel door once again for any means to escape until she heard –

"_Luther! Never mind the girl!" _exclaimed Mary's voice_, "Just leave her - Hurry up and open the door_!"

There was another earsplitting explosion that made the walls shake; the steel, triple-locked doors were blown off their hinges in a matter of seconds, Ruby was promptly thrown off her feet; she forcefully slammed into the armoire before crumpling to the floor in a mess of broken glass and splintered wood from the impact; something had blown the doors apart. She winced and re-opened her eyes groggily; there was something on her head which was wet and trickling down her temple and with a raised hand, she realised it was blood. As she began to drift in and out of consciousness, wondering what had just happened, dust and debris rained over her as she continued to lie still on the ground. She shook her head clear of fragments, her lips powdery and ash-white; she saw a familiar white-haired figure storm inside, holding a large gun in hand which would explain the explosions.

_…Luther? _Before she blacked out, another figure had entered the room after the vampire. With her remaining strength, Ruby lifted her head a tiny notch to see…_ Mary?_

But the woman did not pay her any attention; instead, she was engrossed with the shattered cabinet at the far end, "There. I see it. Abraham van Helsing's cross."

* * *

><p>After the turmoil and chaos was over, Hellsing was left to recover from a hole in the wall of the East Wing, ground floor Day Room; the cross had been stolen.<p>

Surprisingly enough, the only casualties were a few, minor injured soldiers. From the intrusion and the theft of the cross, attacking humans or completing any form of major sabotage was not a priority. Seras was seen limping back up the stairs, having met Luther upon her way as she escorted Mary; after a brief battle, the draculina was defeated, leaving Luther to do as he pleased… but other than that, she was, in fact, unharmed. As Morris wheeled himself down the tarnished corridor, he found Integra in the day room facing the large, gaping hole leading to outside, with the same manila folder the soldier had brought in earlier on in her hand.

"Integra?" He wheeled himself in and glanced around. The hole in the room was bringing an extremely cold draught in the manor, "What's going on? Seras was escorting Ms Lynch but she ended up stealing the cross! And…and you just let them steal the cross under your nose. What was – I mean…Mr Alucard and Miss Seras and Walter just let them walk out of the front door!"

"Yes, I am aware of that. I had Seras deliberately take her there."

"Huh?"

Meanwhile, Alucard drifted through the ruined landscape of the wall and stepped foot into the room, "Do you think so lowly of my master, Morris? The cross in the treasury room is a replica..."

"Replica?" Morris questioned.

Integra nodded in response as Alucard strode over to stand beside her. "My ancestor's cross was never kept there at all. After the Kukri knife was stolen, I suspected they were going to target my ancestor's cross one day. If one believes the legends, then the one who gathers all the ancient weapons that once defeated Dracula… may hope to defeat Dracula once again."

Morris swallowed down before quickly wheeling himself in front of her, "…Do you think it'll work? The Bowie knife is strong enough to kill normal vampires, yes, but the weapons have been around for too long. Whatever magic they may have possessed surely does not exist now…"

"Not necessarily." Integra replied, "Even if they attempt to kill Alucard, Alucard will not yield to their efforts. He is the ultimate vampire. He cannot be defeated."

A squinted smile appeared on Morris' face in response to Integra's determined confidence in Alucard. "Well, obviously you must have seen something in that Ms Lynch. She stole the cross anyway and has left with that vampire. I still don't get why you said that to the woman though. You almost made her cry."

"I wanted her to take the bait."

"Bait? What… bait?"

"Look." Integra handed him the folder. When Morris opened it and received an eyeful of the word 'DEATH' and 'RUBY ASHCROFT' in those large, black and bold letters, his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"What is the meaning of this?" He gasped.

Integra plucked a brown cigar from the innards of her pocket and slid it into her mouth before lighting the end up with her lighter, all the while Morris was looking at the paper from all sorts of angles - up and down, back to front – as if it would help him comprehend any better. "…From what Alucard has disclosed to me, Ruby's relationship with her father is extremely constrained. It started during her childhood and continued into her adulthood. At first, I had wanted to ask Ms Lynch about Ruby's background, but if she was her carer roughly the time it started, and if she had been working for the Ashcroft family for such a long time as she stated herself, how is it she could not have noticed during her entire time there that a child was being neglected by a parent?"

"…Well, if you put it that way…"

"The way how Ruby was treated by her father would at least be something a carer would concern herself about, and would raise this issue to her mother, or to authorities, but Ms Lynch never did."

"Are you saying that… Miss Ruby _needed _to be looked after by the Ashcroft's? They couldn't afford anyone to investigate them?"

"They never asked for anyone else to 'babysit' but a **close friend**. They needed Ruby to stay in that family no matter what was going on. And so," Integra replied, "If my hunch is correct, Ruby is vital to them; she is being used by Mary and the Ashcroft's some way in another. What I need to know now is… if it is Caelum who is pulling the strings, I need to find out where he is."

"So that's why you let Mary steal the cross. And now that she's taken Miss Ruby with her; Alucard will find them in no time. She'll lead us back to Caelum without even knowing. Have you even thought about how we are going to defeat that guy?"

"The problem is he is not a regular vampire because he is one of the First. We took over his island, we stopped the tournament, we stopped the vampire bar…And when Alucard confronted him, our customised bullets didn't work either." Integra said, "He may be just like Alucard himself. Immortal, never-dying…"

That being said, Alucard's lips tugged upwards into a smirk. "There is no such thing as immortality in this world, my master."

Morris put a hand to his chin as in deep thought, "Yes, there must be a way to defeat him. You know…I thought Alucard was a product of years of thorough examination and study. There can't be another vampire as strong as he is anyway."

"Yes, there is none. There should be none. I think it's best we try approaching Caelum from a different perspective." Integra remarked.

"What kind of perspective?"

"Well…" She replied, with a growing smile, "…Let's start with Ruby. I don't know for whatever reason Ms Lynch is doing this, and why this has happened to Ruby in the first place, but it seems she is important to his plan, and we will find out soon." Turning to Alucard, she added, "Well? Have you found her yet?"

"Yes," Alucard replied, "…They've taken her home."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"What just happened?"

Ruby woke up to a one-voice argument. She groggily opened her eyes to see Mary and Luther standing near the door to the lounge. Mary was strangely irate; Ruby had never seen her so agitated before. She was pacing up and down the floor relentlessly asking, "No-one else has access to father's files except me and…Luther, what did you do?"

However, Luther merely threw his gaze to the floor; Mary, having none of that, grabbed his arm and placed his hand over hers. She said nothing for a short while, but then - "You sent them the death certificate, didn't you?"

Luther turned away in response, to Ruby, who was still recovering. Unsure of what was going on, and having been ignored for the past few minutes, Ruby began to slowly make sense of her surroundings before ultimately realising they had brought her…

_Home?_

"Why?" Mary was demanding now, but she received no response. Instead, she began to shake her head in disbelief, "…You know what…it doesn't matter. What's done is done. Something's not right. That was too easy."

Ruby glanced around; they were indeed at her home, in her lounge. The house was silent, save for Mary's loud shouting. It didn't appear as though her mother or father were home. She gasped then, feeling homesick and relieved, and she turned to Luther, who was occupied with Mary, before she tried to crawl away but she did not go unnoticed.

"And where do you think you're going?" Mary was talking loudly, furiously, whilst Luther remained eerily silent, "They know who you are! It's OVER. They know who you are, Ruby, which means they know everything."

Ruby backed away from the duo immediately, "W-who are you?"

"I'm your carer."

"No, you're not just my carer, you're…you're…I don't know who you are, but you know Luther which means – "

She sighed heavily, "My real name is Mary Rosenthal. When I was a baby, I was stolen from my real family, just like you." Mary said, "But…unlike you, Caelum decided to take me in as his own. I grew up as his daughter and he is my father."

"You were the…_you're _the child who was abducted by Caelum?"

"Yes."

"B-but WHY? He's not your family - and your mother and sister - you _never_ tried to return to them once?"

"No. I'm happy where I am."

"Th-that's wrong." Ruby stammered, "That's wrong…"

Mary reached over and grabbed her by the sides of her arms, "That's unimportant at the moment; Ruby, you need to come with us. I have always looked out for you," She said sternly, "Please, you need to come. Come with us,_ now_. Caelum will_ never_ hurt you, I swear. He's looked after you before, too. We are his daughters."

"NO!" Ruby pulled herself away fiercely, "You're crazy! Why did you even bring me here? What do you want? Y-You stole Sir Integra's cross and you hurt Seras! When Alucard gets here, he's going to - "

Mary's expression darkened in a split second, "You stupid little girl!"

And Ruby found herself stumbling backwards - Mary had slapped her across the face, hard. To her surprise, Luther was at her side in seconds and had prevented her from stumbling by grabbing her arm. Ruby stared. She hadn't expected Luther to help her in any way at all. Her mouth opened to a little extent, although she was unsure what to say.

However, Mary soon brought them back to the current reality. "_Get a hold of yourself_!" She was hissing, as soon as Luther lifted Ruby back onto her feet, "It's over! Alucard doesn't love you and he never will! Do you know why he turned you? Because he's lonely and he wants a toy! Don't you understand? He will never love you the same way he loves Mina! No, he will never love you the same way at all! You are not even important to him as the other people in his life are! He will love his Master more than you! And he will love his fledgling more than he will ever love _you_!"

Ruby shrugged herself out of Luther's hold to focus on Mary. "No…you're wrong…" She replied, her voice wobbling, "S-stop it! You're wrong you're wrong you're wrong! Just stop it! Get out of my house! _Get out!_ I will NEVER come with you, and I don't want to see you again, ever!"

Mary was strangely unfazed nor did she attempt to change Ruby's mind. "Fine." She merely stated, frowning, and Ruby was slightly startled the woman did not even argue her case considering how intent she was on in having Ruby come with her earlier on. Mary then averted her gaze to Luther, as though Ruby was no longer of her concern, "We're wasting time here. Let's go, give this to father; he is expecting us..."

Luther left Ruby's side after a few moments of hesitation and returned to Mary.

And in a blink, they had gone, vanishing into thin air.

Ruby was left alone in the house. She stood numbly on the spot, wondering what to do next. She had been taken away by Mary and Luther from Hellsing and dumped in her own home… and now this was happening. Maybe she should try and get in contact with Hellsing and find Alucard. But a noise, a low _thunk_, grabbed her attention, and she turned to the kitchen where the noise had seemingly come from. Was someone here?

_Thunk._

That noise came again. Ruby inched into the kitchen uneasily, arriving shortly at the door leading to the basement.

It was open.

Ruby peered through the doorway and glanced down at the long stretch of steep stairs that led down to the basement. Swallowing in her gut, she made her way down. The noise was louder now, going thunk, thunk, thunk in a rhythmic pattern. As soon as she arrived at the door to the basement, she found that door ajar.

When was the last time she was in the basement?

Oh yes, it was her first and final time, so many years ago… she was ill and woke up one night… She called for her mother and father but they never came so she went to find them herself. She found her mother asleep on the settee, but her father was downstairs in the basement…

Shakily, her hand grasped the doorknob and she opened the door. It gave a low creak, as though it had been of long disuse, and she stepped inside. The basement was dark but she could still make out a few silhouettes of furniture inside. She found a piece of string dangling down from the ceiling beside her and pulled it.

The light flickered on, casting a dim, orangey-yellow glow in the basement.

With limited light, she was also relatively surprised to discover that the basement was clean, without a hint of dust or cobweb in the corner. The basement wall, the first wall she turned to her right, contained a great, wide billboard that was at least the size of her living room window. It was covered in what seemed to be old photographs and cut-outs of newspaper articles, reports, documents, cards, letters, and memos. The desk at the foot of the large billboard was a mess, with her parent's stethoscope and medicine supplies, syringes and test-tubes in a small rack containing a liquid that appeared to be blood.

"Hello? Is…someone there?"

There was a noise at the far end of the basement, where the light of the basement did not reach. The noise was a low kind of shuffle that came rhythmically; the noise soon became heavy, like someone heaving a plough and dragging it through the ground. Stepping forwards slightly, Ruby saw the hunched outline of a person huddling in the corner… it looked like a lot like…

"Mum!" Ruby rushed over and threw her arms around the woman tightly, her eyes squeezed shut. "Mum! You're here! Where's dad? They said you were missing! I was so worried! And something weird's going on. Mary's gone crazy, too!"

However, she received no response.

"…Mum?"

Dahlia was digging her hands into the ground and clawing out soil, which explained the noise. What startled Ruby was that…they had a… mud patch…in the… basement?

"Mum, what are you doing? Stop it. Stop doing that." Ruby reached over and attempted to lift out her mother's fingers which were stuck in the thick, but brittle mud. No good, Dahlia was unmoving, her gaze focused on the soil on her hands.

With no success in prying her mother's hands out of the ground, Ruby could only watch with a fixed helplessness while kneeling down beside her mother. After a few unproductive minutes of doing nothing but watch, Ruby stood back up and then moved to the desk with the billboard.

There was the same crayon drawing her mother took away the last time she returned home. It was pinned beside a photograph of a house that looked eerily identical. Ruby tilted her head to the side for a better look at the photograph; the photo seemed to possess a bitter familiarity to it… She was almost struck with the belief she had seen the house before…she just wasn't sure when, and where. Beside the drawing, was a plastic, laminated name tag. Ruby picked it up, her eyes widening. The nametag was a simple nametag, with a logo of a silver sphere-shape with the words ORACLE R & D COMPANY stamped in the middle. There was a small passport photo of her mother along with her name.

She put down the nametag before averting her attention to a family portrait stuck to the billboard of an infant chewing a cookie, being held by a woman who was seated, with a man standing beside her, his hand was placed on her shoulder affectionately They were both smiling. Ruby stared. She did not recognise the couple at all, but she reached for it and plucked it out from the board. Then she turned the photograph around with trembling hands and glanced at the back.

**In memory of Alena Van der Linde and Henrik Van der Linde.**

Gasping, she dropped the photograph. _Van der Linde…That's the name of…_

Ruby began looking around the rest of the basement frantically; eventually, her searching eyes landed on a particular newspaper cut-out fastened to the billboard with a small pin which she pulled off. Immediately, she began scouring the headlines, which dated back at least eighteen years ago:

**FAMILY KILLED IN FIRE. DAUGHTER MISSING.**

The name of the couple who perished was also _Van der Linde_. She stared at the newspaper cut-out in stunned silence.

Then slowly, Ruby backed away from the desk, away from the confusing items that were collected on the board and then she found herself bumping into the filing cabinet, a few documents fluttering out from the top. It appeared as though the cabinet had been opened recently and browsed through, considering how all the documents she had knocked over appeared to be in unassorted order. Ruby found another old photo, this time labelled **RUBY ASHCROFT** and quickly glanced at it under the gloomy light.

The photo contained her mother and father whom she recognised immediately, but the little girl accompanying them in the picture… was not_ her_. It could not be. It was someone she had never seen before in her entire life…

Her hands were trembling. She dropped the photo and grabbed the desk for support, her fingers gripping the edge tightly as she stood up clumsily. _Calm down… calm down… let's think slowly first…_ "What is this…?" She stammered out wobbly, only to receive no response. Turning to Dahlia, she saw her mother at the mud patch of the basement, still digging. "What are these photos? What are those newspaper articles? Why do you have a nametag saying Oracle Research and Development? I thought you were a doctor? What do these all mean?"

Dahlia ignored her again.

"What are these?" She tried again, only to elicit the same response; the woman was engrossed, like a mad man digging for gold. "What do the Van der Linde's have to do with you?"

"…Ruby…Ruby darling…forgive me. Mummy's sorry…Mummy's so sorry…" Dahlia began to mumble and mutter to herself continuously as she pried at the murky dry mire with her hands, her fingers and nails caked in dirt, and blood. "Mummy's going to look after you…Mummy loves you…mummy loves you so much…"

"Stop doing that!" Ruby yelled as she rushed over, before falling to her knees beside her mother. Ruby tried to pull Dahlia's hands out of the ground but the woman kept shoving her hands into the dirt persistently no matter how many times she tried. "What is it? What are you looking for? Is something in there? Did you lose something in there?"

Again, she received no response from the mumbling, muttering woman, and Ruby began to assist in the dig, plunging her hands deep into the soil. She didn't know how much she dug out, but when her nails finally hit something hard, she stopped for a split second, then began ploughing out more soil at a faster pace. She brushed away the last remaining soil tendrils over the hard object only to let out a gasp.

There, settled deep within the mud, were carefully arranged, little whitish-grey...sticks?

No, not sticks.

_Bones._

A hand.  
>It was a human hand.<p>

But it was so small… at least, the size of an infant…

"…What is that? Who…_Who is that?_"

Dahlia scooped up the brittle bones that were meant to be a human hand and clutched it to herself as tears dribbled down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes. "…Ruby…Ruby, my darling…my poor baby…my baby…let's all go to the seaside…that's what you wanted so much…"

"…_Ruby_?"

She understood now.

"…That's Ruby? That's the_ real_ Ruby? But…why is she…dead?"

Dahlia ignored her, clutching the bones to her bosom tightly, her eyes squeezed shut as thick tears continued to ooze out.

"You killed her…?"

"No!" Dahlia wailed out all of a sudden, "We didn't kill her! We could never kill her!"

"Then what did you do? Why is she there? What happened to her? Why is she buried in your basement?" Ruby demanded, "Tell me!"

Dahlia shook her head furiously. "No…no…no, no…we can't…I can't tell you..."

"Tell me!"

"NO!"

"What did you do? What did you do to your daughter and the Van der Linde's?" Ruby yelled angrily, but Dahlia only turned away with the bones of the child gathered in her arms. "Did you kill them? Did Caelum kill them? Answer me!" An anger like no other overcame her, she wanted to scream, to cry and to hurl, to throw something; she was angry that this woman - who claimed to be her mother - could not reply to any of her questions, but then –

"_YES_!" Dahlia finally screamed, before she put down the bones and began digging at the mud again to find the remainders of the skeleton, uncovering the skull, "…He killed your real parents and then he took you! He took you…"

Ruby stared, her mind going hazy with shock. "…Why?"

"He knew who you were; he knew you were Alucard's mate."

"How?"

"Oracle has been researching you, before you were born; they found you. It would only be a matter of time, until you would meet Alucard."

She couldn't believe her ears."But what does Caelum want with me? What does he want?"

"Caelum gave you to us." Dahlia was simpering helplessly, "You were so cute. It was as if our little darling Ruby had returned to us. I needed you…" She sat up and lifted the skull to her eye-level, "Ruby…My baby…You were only three years old… It was our fault…we didn't look after you properly, you…you were playing in the kitchen and you fell down the stairs."

Her eyes widened. _It was an accident?_ Ruby cast her gaze to the skull; the skull was nothing but a small and rotted, russet-white globe with short strands of brown hair dotted around the crown; its eye sockets empty and devoid, and its mouth resembling nothing but an array of clenched tiny teeth, an eerie but brutal reminder of what happened to one's body after death.

She felt a pang of guilt in her gut but turned away, horrified to be a witness to this. Her mouth opened to some extent but no words could form, all she could do was sidle a little closer to her and reach a shaking hand out to the weeping woman. "…Mum…?"

The woman still had her back to her, sobbing helplessly into the decaying skull.

"Mum - "

Dahlia lashed out and shoved her hand away immediately as she turned round, "_I'm not your mother!_"

The basement fell into silence.

Ruby withdrew her hand, and Dahlia began to weep louder after realising her mistake, "…Oh…Ruby…_Ruby_. I'm…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to… I love you – "

"No."

"Ruby, _please_ – we raised you…"

"N-no." Her voice was quivering as she began to stand up, stepping away from the kneeling woman who had now put down the skull. "You're right. You're not my mother."

She wailed devastatingly in response, "Ruby, _no _- !"

"Wake up! I'm NOT Ruby. I'm not your Ruby…It…it's not fair to your daughter. Your real daughter." She forced herself to turn away from the sobbing Dahlia with her fists clenched, and she marched back towards the stairs. Dahlia's dreary sobs followed her out; Ruby left the basement and back upstairs to the lounge, feeling betrayal from all four corners. Finally, she stopped at the doorway. She glanced around her house wordlessly…she had no sense of identity, no sense of belonging…

_Who…who am I?_

She inhaled a deep breath, deciding to leave… yes…she was going to leave and never come back…

She moved forwards, walking, swallowing down a lump in her throat as her legs seemed to appear heavier and heavier with step. And as she neared the door, she felt her body shuddering, as though she had taken a difficult, laborious breath. Her mind fogged over with relentless grief and a sense of sheer devastation, and her knees eventually gave way. Ruby dropped to the floor and the tears she could no longer hold in began streaming from the corner of her eyes as soon as she made contact with the ground, and she lay there helplessly, weeping.

Although she had cried earlier before, she was saddened to see blood tears…or at least, her tears were some kind thin, reddish fluid which she inadvertently smeared over her face as she attempted to wipe them away. It leaked out so freely from the corner of her eyes and she looked back up, her face streaming with blood as her shaking, curled hands became stained with crimson blobs.

_No… this can't be happening…_

_All this time…they weren't even my real parents...! But… she lost her real daughter and sought me as a replacement…She still cared for me and loved me unconditionally even though she knew deep inside I wasn't her own flesh and blood..._

_She's still my mother…_

…_I can't leave things the way they are now._

As Ruby rose from her spot and turned to waddle towards the kitchen, the foreboding resonance of a gunshot suddenly rang throughout the house; she froze and shakily threw her gaze towards the door leading to the basement.

She was too scared to go downstairs.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong>

Whew! Finally, I got the truth out. There goes the first tragedy. Surprisingly, I have been building up so long for this chapter it actually feels…strange to get it out. This was meant to be split into 2 chapters but there really is no need.

Chapter summary:

Integra receives a death certificate of Ruby Ashcroft dating back more than 20 years ago which was left outside Hellsing gates. Considering that Ruby took on the identity of Leanne Van der Linde when she was found in Bal'allan, Integra has her suspicions that Ruby is Leanne.

Just then, Mary arrives and Integra approaches her with the intention of finding out more about Ruby's past. She asks Alucard, Seras and Ruby to leave the room for the moment. Alucard and Ruby return to the treasury room.

In the meeting room, when questioning Mary about Ruby's poor relationship with her father, Integra begins to get suspicious about Mary because Ruby was treated horribly but Mary did nothing to prevent it, thus bringing Integra to the conclusion that maybe Ruby is Leanne who was stolen from her real family and placed into another. But why Ruby needed to stay within the Ashcroft family is still something that needs further investigation.

Before she can question her, Luther has launched an attack on the manor by blowing a hole in one of the rooms downstairs, thus infiltrating the manor. Meanwhile, Alucard leaves Ruby in the treasury room which has been activated into lockdown mode, sealing her inside. To get it to unlock, he has to go find Integra. To clarify her suspicions, Integra tries to bait Mary by deliberately anointing Seras to take Mary to a safe place for 'protection', but they would also conveniently pass the treasury room.

On their way, they meet Luther who has finally located the room (was not written in chapter), and Luther defeats Seras, before Mary commands him to open the door to the treasury room. He blasts open the door and Mary sees Ruby inside, who has been knocked unconscious by the explosion. Mary breaks into the cabinet of the cross and takes Ruby with her.

After the assault, Integra, Morris and Alucard discuss their next move. Basically, Integra had wanted to ask Mary innocent questions about Ruby, but after she received the death certificate, she thought something was weird and asked Mary some more questions about Ruby's background which ended up portraying Mary as a suspicious character.

* * *

><p>Right, so if you are a new reader and you have somehow jumped to this chapter and this section for god-knows-what reason at all, then whatever you do, please DO NOT read this, because this will spoil the entire story for you.<p>

This author's note is ONLY for those who have been reading since Chapter 1.

**-Updated- OC Character Profiles:**

**Name:** Leanne Van der Linde/Ruby Ashcroft

This is not mentioned in the story, but she is a descendant of one of Dracula's brides. Her ancestral bloodline was observed in brutal detail by Oracle who then calculated and predicted that Ruby/Leanne or even her mother, would have a chance of encountering Alucard at least once in their lives. In this chapter, she found out that after her real parents were killed by Caelum, he then gave her to Samuel and Dahlia to be raised up until the day she would meet Alucard, and all this time, she had believed they were her parents.

**Name:** Caelum _(aka Man in Black or Red Eyes, according to Ruby)_

The President of Oracle Corporation. He is an ancient vampire who preys on humans in a cannibalistic manner, choosing to devour them than just drink their blood. He is now killing anyone who angers or annoys him the slightest. During the 1940-50s, he was in love with the human Emilia; he raped her (apparently) and was then captured by Oracle Corporation and experimented on along with Ermen and Luther, before deciding to kill all the scientists and take over the HQ and re-establishing the Order of the Black Flame, but decided to mutilate the previous code and rename them as 'Knights' and not 'Guardians' because he no longer wants to protect humans. He has a daughter, Mary.

He is known to Ruby as Red Eyes because his red eyes are all she can remember of him when he abducted her. From Ruby's hidden memories/flashbacks when she was a baby, she was actually attached to him because she began crying when he handed her to Dahlia to be held.

**Name:** Luther

Although heavily disfigured, he has tried to speak and can communicate telepathically if he has skin-to-skin contact. However, even then the only person he trusts and talks to is actually Mary, whom he unofficially recognises as his Master. Although he is one of Caelum's right hand men, he is far more loyal to her, and listens to her every command. He has also expressed concern over Caelum's recent actions and has suggested leaving Oracle only to be rebuffed.

If you remember in Chapter 23, when Mary goes to find Ruby, she tells her 'someone will help her' before leaving, and then later, Luther attempts to win Ruby at the Bride Auction. Get it now? :)

**Name:** Mary Lynch/Rosenthal

The missing daughter of Emilia Rosenthal, now Caelum's daughter. She is human and has been brought up with knowledge of the existence of vampires, which is why she sees it as a 'norm'. She is Luther's Master.

**Name:** Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft

Samuel is Ruby's father. He actually works for Oracle, and his real daughter had an accident. At the moment, he is still missing.

Dahlia is Ruby's mother. She also works for Oracle, and it is revealed the real Ruby is buried in a mud patch of their basement. She never recovered from the death of her only child and when Caelum gave her Leanne, she took her in straight away and called her 'Ruby'. She committed suicide in this chapter.

_Minor:_

**Name:** Thade  
>His real name is Herbert. He is a Scottish vampire who lives in Bal'allan Mountains. Although he has helped Hellsing before, he is actually associated with Caelum.<p>

**Name:** Garth  
>He has taken over Ermen's position.<p>

**Name:** Jack Seward  
>Descendant of John Seward. He is the residential doctor of Hellsing; compared to Morris, he has a serious disposition and is a no-nonsense guy.<p>

**Other:**

_Oracle Corporation._

A research facility run by a group of scientists that used to experiment on vampires, working 'to see a better future'. Ermen and Luther were once subjects. After the scientists captured Caelum, they did not account for him to take over. Now, Oracle Corporation is a company within the financial district of London with a false public image. They still employ humans (such as Samuel and Dahlia).

_Vampires._

I decided to add this in because Anemos asked about character's names. Firstly, GaarasMyBoyzz provided me with the name Ermenrich. For the others, I tried to find unusual, uncommon names because I've portrayed male vampires in this story as being mysterious, surname-less and mafia-like males who are also enigmatic, menacing, yet surprisingly sophisticated and even charming (except from Thade). I have decided to portray the female counterparts as being seductive albeit sneaky and dangerous temptresses. They hate Ruby because they love Alucard. Very much.

**Deceased Characters:**

_During-story_

Dahlia Ashcroft  
>Ermenrich<br>Cassandra (minor character, Ermen's bride)  
>Mordecai Rosenthal<br>Nadia  
>Victor Sloan<p>

_Pre-story_

Ruby Ashcroft (the real daughter)  
>Alena and Henrik Van der Linde<br>Emilia and Caelum's baby (unnamed)  
>Emilia Rosenthal<br>Anthony Rosenthal  
>Gideon (Original Leader of the Guardians)<p> 


	32. Assault on Oracle Corporation

Thanks for the reviews! Thank you for reading and supporting! I was on a writing roll! And this is a long chapter so make sure you are somewhere comfortable! Also, I must thank An Echo in Time for beta-ing :)

**WARNING:** Gore

* * *

><p><em>Assault on Oracle Corporation<em>

"It's fake."

Her father did not even spare a glance at it when she presented him with the cross; Mary and Luther glanced at each other before she threw her gaze down at the cross in hand. "…Fake…?" She squeaked; her voice seemed to have gone into hiding.

"Of course it's fake." He growled, "This cross contains as much holy power as a common cross in a church would."

Mary's jaw dropped slightly. She knew it. How could Hellsing have let them leave so easily? It had all been a set-up… "Father, I'm…I'm sorry…oh, please, forgive me, I – "

She was interrupted when Luther suddenly dashed in front of her and Caelum's hand made contact with his face. Of course, it was intended for Mary. The slap was hard enough to knock his mask off his face; Luther stood still, hissing raggedly through his exposed splintered teeth as the mask bounced against the marble white floor of the office, blood spots leaking out from the coiled tube which was now broken.

"Luther!" Mary ran to the fallen mask and picked it back up for him. "…Are you okay?" She asked, and the white-haired vampire nodded slightly. She returned to his side and began to affix the mask over his mouth, pulling the strap tight and secure around his head. "There, good as new." She tried to smile at him.

Caelum frowned at the duo, "Don't stick up for him. He was the one who sent Hellsing the death certificate. I've still to decide your punishment – and Mary, you disappoint me the most."

"…I'm sorry! Please don't be angry, father. Please don't punish Luther. He doesn't know what he's doing." Mary exclaimed, standing in front of the silent vampire protectively.

"Hmph. I'm really starting to worry about you two. From now on, Mary, I forbid you from seeing him. I don't care that you were childhood friends in the past. You're not a child anymore." Caelum said, before he grabbed his suit jacket and began to leave his room. "I don't like how tame you're making him..."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

Alucard found Ruby at her home.

He had never visited her home before but the house smelled of death. The unmistakeable stench of blood was wafting from somewhere in the house… he didn't know where, but it seemed to be originating from the kitchen, and he could tell that a lot of blood had been spilled… He arrived at the house only to find it silent. He searched the lounge and dining room first before moving to the kitchen where he found the door leading to the basement open. When he stepped through the doorway he could hear the harrowing echoes of someone sniffling loudly.

"Ruby?" Alucard ventured down the stairs and found Ruby crumpled on the basement floor, motionless. Her eyes were sunken and red, and she had blood streaked down her face. She had been crying, but she was no longer sniffing or snivelling, and was merely…still. He approached her slowly, before lowering himself to her level. He tried again, "Ruby."

She didn't reply.

Alucard lifted her off the floor to stand and took the sides of her face with his hands and made her look up at him. "Ruby, what happened here?"

Ruby finally swerved her eyes to the side, and he followed the direction of her gaze to see a body lying near her, blood seeping out from underneath.

_Dahlia._

A gun was lying beside the body.

Immediately, Alucard bundled the girl in his arms and covered her eyes with his hand. He didn't want her to look any longer. She was only a newly-turned draculina and he could not afford to let anything break her. He threw another quick glance to Dahlia's body before he scooped his arm around the small of her back and under the bend of her knees and carried her back up the stairs. He needed to get her out of here... get her somewhere…anywhere, but _here_.

She began screaming immediately, "No! NO! Noooo!"

Carrying her up the stairs was a difficult task; she was straining and resisting in his hold, wailing loudly and sadly. When he arrived at the lounge, he settled her down on one of the sofas and made her look at him; even then, her gaze was not focused on him properly and she appeared distant. "Ruby, look at me. I'm here. I have come for you." He shook her to break her out of this haze, "_Ruby_!"

"...All this time and I didn't even know – "

"Ruby, focus."

"I never even knew my real parents." She began mumbling and muttering incoherently, "And they...they...They were complete strangers! They weren't even related to me in any way at all! They were monitoring me the entire time! They were just preparing and waiting for me to meet you!"

He grasped her by the arms and tried to snap her out of her hysteria, "Ruby – "

"No. Not…Not Ruby. My name is…Leanne." She mumbled in a slight trance, as soon as she began to calm down. Her blue eyes were glazed over and glassy, "…Eighteen years ago, my parents were killed…and I was taken away by Caelum, who gave me to…to…"

She couldn't seem to finish her sentence. To assist her, he said, "Is this true?"

"…I…I betrayed you."

"How have you betrayed me?"

"The entire time, I was – "

"Caelum's_** pawn**_."

Finally, she looked up at him. "…If you don't love me anymore, that's okay…"

He sighed deeply, then scooped her into his arms. "I will love you always." He murmured, and with that, she began sniffling and buried her face into his chest before wrapping her arms around him.

"…I'm scared."

"I will protect you."

She whimpered again and tightened her arms around him, rubbing her face against him. "Oracle." She then squeaked, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve.

"Hm?"

She let go of him, her fingers now grasping at each side of his duster; she said sternly, "…Oracle. The research facility is called Oracle." Then she inched out of his embrace and stood up. "…I'm going."

He stood up after her, "Ruby, _no_," He followed her as she made her way to the door; he grabbed her by the shoulder, then spun her round and hauled her back into his arms, but she struggled violently against him. "Ruby, I will not permit you to go; it is far too dangerous - "

She shook her head fiercely, "No! Let me go, Alucard! I'm going! I don't care!" She returned to the screaming and screeching, flailing and thrashing in a bid to free herself from his clutch; she was hysterical, wailing and clawing at his shoulders as he attempted to carry her back.

"Let go! Let me go!" She screamed, but he silenced her by slamming his lips against hers. She resisted him, as she hardly felt this was the appropriate time, but then her legs gave way, and she slumped against him, their lips breaking apart, and she began sobbing into his chest. "…Please…He killed my parents…Please, Alucard…I need to find out what else there is…I've never asked you for any favours before, but…I really need to do this, and I need you to be with me."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"Got it. There is only one Oracle R & D Company in the UK." Morris said, as he tip-tapped away at his laptop. He had pinpointed the location of the hideout as soon as Alucard had called them telling them that he had found Ruby, "It's slap-bang in the middle of the _City of London_ – not to be confused with the actual city, London - but rather, the _financial district_."

"You heard the man." Integra told the helicopter pilot consequently, "Get us there right now."

"Yes, sir."

As the helicopter revved into life, Integra, Walter, Seras, Morris, and even Seward, strapped on the seatbelts over their chests and put on their noise-cancelling headphones. Integra was on the phone with the Commissioner, reciting procedures to evacuate the financial district and make sure the media do not interfere while Morris and Seras were glancing at Seward.

"Hey, Dr Seward? You don't look very good!"

"He gets helicopter-sick."

"I'm fine." Seward barked to his companions, but his complexion was extremely pallid and completely devoid of colour as he went through his med-kit.

"…So what's the plan, Integra?" The vampire hunter asked, as the helicopter began to hover in the air. "Surround the building like a hostage situation and communicate via megaphone?"

"No, we hit them hard and fast." Integra replied, watching Hellsing manor below them become farther and farther away, "I'd like to get our men in there as quickly as possible. I've already given them orders not to approach Caelum until Alucard gets here. We don't know what he's capable of, and I certainly don't want any casualties."

"You'll probably get to Caelum last. The company's bound to be full of his vampire cronies all dying to get a piece of us."

Turning to her butler, Integra said, "That's not a problem for Walter, isn't that right?"

"Yes, mi'lady." Walter replied, with a crooked smile.

As the journey went on, Morris began drawing out a quick map of their plan.

"Okay, so here's the skinny: Oracle R & D. Pharmaceutical Company to humans. Secret lair for vampires. Objectives unknown. Run by Caelum. Amount of subordinates unknown. One known to Hellsing: Luther. Daughter: Mary Rosenthal, so leave her cos' she's human. We can arrest her, but whatever you do, don't shoot." Morris was yelling over the loud noise of the whirring helicopter blades and the engine itself. "I will be providing backup from a safe distance. At the moment, Alucard is not back yet so, Seras, we're going to do some espionage - you're in charge of this little machine – "

He lifted up a small beeping device from his pocket. It was silver and rounded, and smooth to touch.

"What is that?" Seras yelled in response, her hands clamped over her headphones while her gun wobbled in her lap.

"Glad you asked!" Morris shouted, grinning, "It's a mapping device. If attached to any building site, it will download and feed me back with a detailed birds-eye view of a building's floorplan via the computer, okay? I'll be able to see all the rooms, corridors, halls, everything. The problem is you need to attach it to a high level to get the most out of it, preferably a rooftop or the second top floor. It's fitted with this magnet that will stick to most walls so don't worry about it falling off."

Suddenly, Integra was pointing out the helicopter window. "There, I see it."

Seras and Morris turned to follow the direction of where Integra was pointing to. It was a large…skyscraper-like building, at least over a hundred stories high. She gulped as Morris patted her shoulder and handed her the mapping device. "You'll be fine!"

"Hey wait – " She turned to him in confusion, "Why don't you just drop me off here?"

"Huh? Are you crazy? You'll probably break your neck!"

"I'll be fine. Just drop me off here!"

Morris turned to Integra, who nodded. "Very well. Go, Seras. Search and destroy! We'll contact you when you're done." The Director commanded, and Seras smiled widely.

"Yes, sir! You can count on me!" Then she promptly ripped off her seatbelt, slid open the door and threw herself out of the helicopter.

* * *

><p>"They're here."<p>

Caelum turned to face the crowd below which he had been addressing. There were at least thirty rows of men clad in black standing stiffly in front of him, all awaiting orders. The hall was so large his voice did not even carry out properly, but that was why he had a podium and a microphone in front of him, and the large telescreens fixed firmly on each side of the wall.

Garth stood behind him, while Luther was lurking behind the curtain of the stage.

"Men!" The president yelled, studying each and every pale face carefully, "…I haven't prepared you all this time for nothing. The time has finally come! We have been living quietly in the shadows of the humans, and our actions have not gone unnoticed. Today, our enemy comes to us. You are tasked with protecting the company…our home, our pride, our dignity and our identity. Hellsing have come to rob us of everything we have lived for, but we shall put a stop to them."

The crowd began cheering immediately, throwing their fists into the air. "Hail Caelum!" They were chanting over and over again, the hall was nothing but a hurricane of male voices, "Hail Caelum, protector of all!"

Caelum added, "But I want you all to avoid Alucard. None of you are strong enough to fight him. I want to come out of this with least casualties." He spoke softly into the microphone, "…Now go, all of you, and show Hellsing what we are made of."

….

"Hm. Police Girl certainly is braver than I expected." Alucard said as they saw a tiny orange blob fall out of the helicopter that was hovering near Oracle. No doubt, it was Seras. After depositing the orange blob on the rooftop, the helicopter began whirring away to find a safer place to land.

With Alucard with her, they'd arrived a safe distance away from Oracle in the nick of time.

Ruby did not seem hindered by sunlight anymore and stared in amazement as she glanced around herself standing in broad daylight. However, she did not see Seras as she was engrossed in staring at the exterior of Oracle. It was a marvellous skyscraper-like building, with faceted glass walls and a lattice shell structure. All this time, she thought… It was hiding in plain sight. How this magnificent building had stood without any suspicion was unbelievable. They must have worked hard to maintain such a low profile. Now that she thought about it more, she was sure she had heard 'Oracle' before. It was then she remembered it was the name of the company that regularly supplied equipment and medicine at the hospitals she'd worked in.

"They've been under our noses the entire time…" She murmured, as a few black vans pulled up shortly behind them.

Armoured soldiers began pouring out immediately and took various positions with their guns ready. However, three soldiers came running up to them who saluted politely.

"Greetings, lieutenant."

"Alucard, I have orders from Sir Integra to discuss with you our plan. Miss Ruby, if you'd like to come with us, we're going to take you somewhere safe."

"What?" She blinked at the men blankly, "I'm not – "

"Ruby, do as they say. I will check up on you later." Alucard said, and she obeyed, for now.

She let the two soldiers lead her away whilst the lieutenant motioned Alucard to follow him into one of the tents to continue on with their conversation. She blinked numbly as she was escorted to a completely different direction from the group, towards a black van nearer the shade. They were almost there until Ruby yanked her arm away from one of the soldiers.

"Hey! What the – ?"

Screw it, she thought. Before they attempted to grab her back she spun on her heel and ran towards the direction of Oracle. She did not even realise it but her speed was too much for the soldiers and they fell behind shortly. She didn't care if they would have booby traps or minefields or whatever they may have in front of the building. She didn't care if vampires would start pouring out this minute to apprehend her. She found herself running towards the building with Hellsing soldiers yelling after her.

As soon as she flung open the double glass doors and stepped inside, she was surprised to see the receptionist behind the desk to her left. The lady stopped filing her nails and turned away from her TV screen on the desk. Ruby stared at her, and tilted her head to the side. The receptionist appeared human, but she could not see her reflection on the marble desk surface.

"The President is on the 150th floor." said the pretty woman, who did not even question Ruby's identity. "He is expecting you."

"…Huh?"

"He has your father. And the President will kill him if you do not come up _**alone**_."

With that said, Ruby gave her a look disbelief but continued on to the end of the hall without stopping or questioning.

"Have a good day, Miss Van der Linde!" The receptionist called after her cheerfully, "And while you're at it, why don't you try a sample of our newly developed Oracle Anti-allergen cream on the second floor? It's free!"

Ruby ignored her. A huge telescreen at least the size of a cinema screen fixed above was buzzing out Oracle commercials. Opposite the reception desk were a small group of wide, black chairs with steel legs placed in erroneous positions around a glass table loaded with financial magazines. The ground floor in general was huge and had a high ceiling and a shiny, black floor with a sleek finish. Passing the waiting area and reception, Ruby made her way to the two elevators which were ready and waiting for her at the end of the hall, throwing a glance over her shoulder to see the receptionist had settled in her seat and was watching her small TV.

She turned away, focusing on the lift.

It was a glass elevator, with a glass pod inside. The glass doors slid to an open and Ruby stepped in. The doors lay in wait as she turned to the button selection. She pressed '150' and wondered how long it would take to get there. The doors closed, and the pod began to rise up –

At the same time, she had just seen Alucard storming in.

"Ruby!" He growled, clearly enraged at her decision to rush in blindly without consulting him…or anyone in general, first.

"May I help you, Mr Alucard, sir?" asked the receptionist, but he did not pay her any attention.

Ruby placed her palms flat against the glass but the elevator wasn't stopping. "I'm heading to the 150th floor!" She yelled, thumping her fists against the glass. She didn't know if he had heard and the pod went up and up and up and up and the reception hall had now vanished from sight along with Alucard and she was now passing all sorts of floors. In just a few seconds, she had already passed 20 floors.

She thought Oracle was empty because she did not see anyone else except from that reception lady until she heard a faint but loud, inhuman roar from a floor above, somewhere, and the pod shook slightly. She was only on the 54th floor and a touch-screen map near the button selection indicated that the top floor was the 150th floor.

_Monsters?_ Ruby thought, _Does Oracle have…monsters?_

Finally, the pod grinded to a halt and the doors opened with a 'whoosh' and she left the pod-lift, having arrived at the 150th floor already. The pod was now whooshing back downstairs to the 124th floor.

Now where was she supposed to go?

There were two choices – to the right, or the left. She took the right for now. Oracle was different than Hellsing. Compared to Hellsing, Oracle was very…updated. The walls were not as close to each other and every corridor was wide with matching marble tiles. The décor was white, and spotlights were planted in the ceiling. It looked like a showcase studio, or show home. She came across the occasional portrait on the wall from modern artists and billboards outlining Oracle business principles, annual budgets and plans. Memos to staff. Memos about the canteen and locker rooms and research facilities. Flyers about racing night, staff night-outs and parties.

Nothing…vampire-ish, really.

It was a contemporary reminder of the modern era and seemed to contrast with Caelum's archaic background and history. Wandering alone, she hadn't come across Caelum, Mary, Luther, or any vampire yet, and she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

As she ventured deeper and deeper, she was occasionally hit with flashes of déjà vu. She remembered these corridors. She remembered these walls. She remembered being in this building at least some point in her life. Her feet carried her without fail; if she remembered correctly, she was heading to Caelum's room… She walked forwards in one of the winding corridors until she arrived at a closed door. Was this his room?

But she hadn't been back in Oracle for so long. Things certainly must have changed… Standing outside the door, she tried her luck. She grasped the doorknob and opened it quickly.

Ruby stared.

The room was large, with bunk beds, tables and a telescreen at the very end. And inside the common room, was a large group of young men.

Her eyes widened.

They were all so…so _young_. They were...boys, but here they were, fair-skinned, pale and handsome, and all were dressed in black. They were not physically young as Joshua, of course. Some at least appeared in their late twenties. Swallowing down, Ruby stepped backwards. Before she could turn to flee, one of them had apprehended her from behind; he climbed down from the ceiling and even then she had not even heard him sneaking up behind her; she was shoved into the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" He said, as he circled her while licking his lips. She eyed him cautiously; he was attractive, tall and lean. It was then she realised most of the residents in this company were roughly the same in appearence.

"Fresh meat!" One of them hollered, which encouraged many jeers from the rest of the young vampires.

The one closest to her leaned over and sniffed her; Ruby shrunk away immediately. "She's only about two days old." He said, grinning now.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get her!"

Ruby screamed as they all lunged at her, and as she froze up completely on the spot, she squeezed her eyes shut to brace for impact.

Nothing happened.

She looked up, panting heavily. Time seemed to have slowed down. She saw all the vampires leaping to attack her, their fangs bared, claws at the ready. Their appearances had turned demonic. No longer were they handsome young men but creatures. And she was standing in the middle, ready to be eaten alive, but -

_**Sister.**_

…_Huh?_ She glanced up and tried to pinpoint the source of the voice, but had no success. The voice sounded familiar, somehow…

_**Sister, let us lend you our strength.**_

Then she blacked out.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"She did it." Morris said, as he sat in the black van with the laptop propped up in front of him. "She did it! I got a floorplan of the entire thing! Dear god, it's like a beehive!"

"Elaborate, Morris." Integra muttered as she set up her laptop beside him on the cramped desk. They had finally landed their helicopter on ground only to find out that Ruby had rushed in herself and Alucard had gone in after her.

"Well, the first fifty floors are complete research facilities." Morris said, "...I am assuming these are for the public, only. The remaining hundred are…I'm not too clear, but it seems to be…living quarters, for the vampires. The top floor also has a large penthouse suite."

"I see." Integra propped a headset over her hair, tucking away strands behind her ear neatly, "Seras, can you hear me?"

From the buzzer beside her, a fuzzy static began to sound off.

"_Yes, sir, I hear you loud and clear_."

"Seras, you will be in charge of evacuating civilians. Walter is already on his way to assist you. Rendezvous at the fifteenth floor, then report back to me. It's time to put an end to Caelum."

* * *

><p>When Ruby finally came to, she was panting heavily, and grinning.<p>

Dropping her smirk, she blinked unsurely, feeling disoriented. She had no idea why she was even grinning in the first place. She glanced around herself; she was standing in the middle of the room which was now empty and free of vampires. The stench of blood lingered strongly in the atmosphere, and she looked around again; all four corners of the room were slathered in fresh blood.

She swallowed down, swaying slightly.

A vampire could be seen running down the corridor, screaming.

In her hand, she was holding something. Ruby blinked and threw her gaze to her hand, to realise both hands were trembling and covered in blood, too. She glanced to the thing she was clenching and inspected it. It was cylindrical, long, thick and cold, and dripping. She felt a chill run down her spine when she realised it was part of a severed leg. Her eyes widened - but that was not all - there was a pile of severed limbs scattered around her, followed by a sea of mangled bodies.

However, she did not scream. She did not cry or gasp in revulsion.

Instead, Ruby tossed the limb away with little care and waded out of the bloodshed, and shut the door to the vampire's quarters quietly beside her, sighing gently. She wiped her face clean of blood as she trekked down the corridor, accidentally coming across many vampires who began running away from her as soon as they caught sight of her.

"N-No!" One of them was yelping, shaking his head, "Spare me, please! I'm too young to die!" Backing away from her, he spun on his heel and ran the other direction to safety. Ruby stared after him, but did not follow. She continued on, eventually passing an open door where she could hear loud rattling and growling.

Ruby turned, to see a large cage with two wolf-like dogs snarling and throwing their bodies against the steel bars of their cage as though trying to escape. One was larger and had a typical, charcoal-grey coat. It was rugged and rough-looking, with formidable fangs and its snout and jaws musty and dripping wet. To her surprise, it appeared to be missing an eye, for all she could see was one brightly-glowing amber eye staring at her through the gaps of the bars while the other 'eye' was an eyelid sewn shut with a scar running vertically. It's companion was white and snowy, perhaps a female, as its body was more lean and sinewy with a thinner tail. Once they caught sight of her staring at them, the wolves ceased their barking and howling and began pawing at the cage, whining piteously and loudly, tails wagging.

A sign on the cage door said PROTOTYPE WEREWOLF I AND II.

Turning away from the prototype werewolves for now, Ruby continued on down the only route left her to take. Caelum's room was in fact, a large suite. Ruby opened the last door presented to her only to find herself in a penthouse.

It was empty.

_I thought he was expecting me...? He's not here._

She was facing his desk directly which was on a raised split-level. His desk was made out of glass and there was a black, leather swivel chair. On either side of the desk were bookshelves, lit up with spotlights. Behind the desk, there was no wall except a large floor to ceiling window. The whole office was white and pristine, and there was a large screen on the left and a closed, white door. There was a bedroom and en-suite to the right, it was not separated by a door or wall, but was an open-plan room connecting with the rest of the office space.

Stunned, Ruby didn't know where to begin.

She was taken aback with the standards of living these vampires had. No doubt they were rich and powerful, privileged and certainly upper-class. Elite. She swallowed down inwardly and moved to the desk first, but could not find anything of interest – there were only Oracle Business Plans, capital figures, minutes and other things she generally didn't understand about a business.

Caelum's computer was also password locked. She tried Emilia, Mary, Gideon, Black Flame and other possible answers but nothing. The computer simply shut her out with the red, blaring words _ACCESS DENIED_. Sighing, she inspected the rest of the desk but there was also nothing to help her. His desk contained a few ornaments consisting of a Mr Henry desk vacuum cleaner, a PVC-painted figurine of a dragon, a fraying calendar with dates circled in red and a small potted plant. She found two cases on the desk near the mouse. The cases contained bullets; why they were split into two, she was not sure because both bullets looked the same.

There were also a few photoframes – one had a black and white picture of Mary when she was a child, standing beside a tall, blurred figure... where the eyes should have been, were two blurry dark dots. It must be Caelum, she thought, as vampires do not show properly up in pictures. Another photo, which was probably more recent as it was in colour, depicted an older Mary, the Mary which Ruby knew, standing beside another blurred figure in black. Again, where the eyes should have been, were red dots. Caelum. Another photograph was dated back to roughly the First World War, where a blurred figure (again, it was most likely to be Caelum), was surrounded by strapping young soldiers.

As comical as it was for an old, aged vampire in keeping these ruined photos where he did not even show up properly, Ruby felt…pity.

However, she tore her gaze from the desk and moved to the bookshelves which were protected by a clear, sliding glass door. There were books on self-improvement, human relationships, space, history, the supernatural and almost every type of genre available. They were mostly nonfiction, which ranged from travel guides, manuals, encyclopaedias and memoirs and autobiographies of almost every important persons on this planet. The variety of books also included books that appeared to be tomes and grimoires.

She moved from the shelves to the white door near the screen first, and tried the doorknob. It opened easily and she found a closet-like room, except it contained folders and boxes. Perhaps it was…an archive?

Ruby stepped in and switched on the light. There were boxes in every shelf labelled from 'ORACLE Reports', 'ORACLE staff list', ORACLE Sickness/Absence', 'ORACLE Pension', then 'Mary's homework/classwork Primary School' and 'Mary's homework/classwork High School'.

Finally, she came across a box labelled 'PATIENT INTERVIEWS – SUBJECT 17: CAELIUS'. She tilted her head to the side and pulled it out. The box was loaded to the brim but she did not find it heavy. She left the archive and quickly opened the lid to find old reel tapes and reports with the name Caelius. The first report she found appeared to be an unofficial record:

**Oracle FINDINGS on Vampire Mythology, No.4.**

_A long time ago, Count Dracula terrorised thirteen peaceful villages scattered at the foot of his castle in Romania. Every year, he demanded twelve young men and maidens from each village to be sent to his castle; they were never heard of ever again._

_A few centuries later, Dracula targets an Englishwoman named Mina, arousing suspicion and attention from an intelligent and brave doctor known as Abraham van Helsing. Together with his associates, they destroy Dracula's home, his castle, his brides, his slaves…everything…with their strength, determination and stamina, along with their most powerful weapons._

_It is speculated that after these weapons were stained by Dracula's blood, these weapons are no longer ordinary._

_And if gathered together, their possibilities are endless._

Ruby put down the report. So that was why Caelum needed the weapons. He was going to gather them together and attempt to kill Alucard. But how could he be so sure? She moved onto the next couple of reports as quickly as she could. This particular reports that were stapled together, especially the first one, was slightly harder to understand:

_17 is not like the others we have come across, since we found  
><em>_17 in the caves near a village in the countryside.  
><em>_17 is a young man with black hair and red eyes.  
><em>_17… is…perhaps 22 to 23 years old?  
><em>_17 was simply sitting there, staring at the sky. They circled  
><em>_17 with their hooks and blessed bayonets, but  
><em>_17 did not do a thing.  
><em>_17 did not attempt to fight us as many had done so. They threw a spear with a ringed nook around  
><em>_17's neck but  
><em>_17 did not show any signs of malevolence.  
><em>_17 did not speak nor did  
><em>_17 ask any questions, so we believe we will make excellent progress utilising  
><em>_17.  
><em>_17 is very calm and composed, as though the strenuous years of living without aging or decaying has taken a mental toll on  
><em>_17. From the van, as I sat here, writing this journal as the events unfolded in front of my very eyes, I saw them bring  
><em>_17 into containment.  
><em>_17 had no objections._

_Signed, Dr Kessler._

….

**Meeting Subject 17.**

_Subject 17 was introduced to me properly today. I will be his analytical psychologist from now on. This is a very big challenge for me as he is an old specimen. I asked 17 his name but he did not look at me and he did not speak. I asked him in Romanian and he still did not speak. I asked him in Old Romanian but it was still not enough to elicit any satisfactory response from him._

_I think it will take some time until I get through to him. I have reminded him that if he does not speak, he will not have a pleasant stay here._

_Signed, Dr Kessler._

…_.._

**MEMO:** **Progress on Subject 17**

_Dear All,_

_Subject 17 has finally begun to communicate with us after months of coercing. I told him when we found him we found some possessions in his cave that had not perished in the fire which we had brought with us and if he co-operated, we would give them back. He finally said yes. He speaks with a northern accent but he told me he comes from Romania and has been speaking English for centuries. He told me vampires learn and pick up things really quickly so I asked if I could test him and he agreed. Compared to our other specimens, 17 demonstrates high resilience and extraordinary potential in hypnotic abilities and mind-manipulation; these results are extremely satisfying and I would like you to sign a petition which will give me consent to focus all progress further on with Subject 17 where I will be submitting him for further tests and re-runs._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Dr Stuart Kessler_

….

_I wonder why Caelum has kept these. These were obviously kept during his confinement as a test subject here. _Ruby thought, as she finished reading through the letter. _I wonder what happened to this Dr Kessler…_

"**Behind you**!"

She dropped the stapled reports in shock, turned round and –

A clenched fist landed on her face, sending her flying into the air. She slammed onto one of the glass bookshelves, shattering the glass door and making a few ornaments on top of the shelf topple down and land at the foot of the desk near where she lay. Groaning, she looked up to see none other than Caelum stepping into the room…however, the one who had shouted 'behind you' at her was not Caelum, but in fact was…

"…Dad?" Ruby gawped wide-eyed at her father, who was being dragged in by Caelum and then dropped off at the side.

"Don't you even think about it." Caelum snarled at him warningly, and Samuel hung his head low.

"Dad!" Ruby yelped, but she was in too much pain to move at the precise moment. All she was capable of doing was lying on her stomach, motionless. "Let him go…"

The president raised an eyebrow at the strewn papers on the floor and stepped over them, "…I leave my office for a few minutes and I come back to find you snooping around; where are your manners, you whelp?"

Ruby quickly gathered herself, placing a hand to her chin to smother away the blood leaking out of her mouth. "W-what exactly is it that you want?"

Before she could move, however, Caelum suddenly vanished from her field of vision and in a split second, he had materialised beside her; she was too slow to retaliate as he grabbed her by the crown of the skull and slammed her forehead against the glass shards.

"What I want? I want Alucard dead, that's what I want. And to do that, I had to find his weakness, which is _**you**_. I want to curse Alucard for what he has done to my sister, what he has done to me! No, what his brides has done…Yes, they were the ones who turned me. I curse them all!"

She didn't understand. "But if you kill Alucard, then you'll – "

"Die? Yes, but I will not die alone. You will die. And Luther, and Alucard's fledgling. Yes...it is theorized that if Alucard is defeated, then all vampires on this earth will be wiped out, for the curse lives within him, and we are his curse-bearers." Caelum murmured, "_Hellsing_... the existence of that organisation is truly ironic! They have sworn to fight evil that walk this planet, yet they remain oblivious to the fact that the very source of the evil they are fighting...is caused by the one they have kept by their side all along! Or perhaps they DO know. They _do know_ that Alucard is the source. Yes...why didn't Abraham van Helsing kill Dracula that day? Why did he choose to enslave him and bring back to Britain...? And that...is Hellsing's biggest secret and conspiracy."

Ruby listened. What Caelum was saying was making sense for once, but she didn't dare to acknowledge or believe in it.

He turned to her then, and she shrunk slightly, "But what truly matters now is I was the one who found you first, NOT Alucard. That was my upper hand! And if you haven't noticed, you are the key to everything, and you have made a mistake coming here, Leanne," He growled in her ear, "You see…The only reason I have allowed you to live so long is because you have something I _need_ and to come here to Oracle alone and into my room, is a blessing."

Still gripping her by the top of her head, he pulled her to look up.

"Hmmm…but it seems I may have underestimated you. You butchered some of my best men in less than five minutes…_What have you become_?" He purred in her ear, and she trembled uncontrollably. "Since I can no longer sense Dahlia, I suppose she must have wasted away herself, or was it you yourself, Ruby, who pulled the trigger because you found out the devastating, horrifying truth?"

Samuel looked up immediately. "What?"

Caelum then forced Ruby to face her father. "…Why are you here?" He questioned her, "To save your 'father'? Do you not despise him, for everything that has been done to you?"

She kept silent, until he slammed her face against the floor again. "…I-I don't know," Ruby eventually croaked out, squeezing her eyes shut, "I know what happened…but it doesn't mean I…" She paused "…I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter."

Obviously displeased with what she had to say, Caelum frowned and rolled his eyes while Samuel looked up wordlessly. "Disgusting." The president snorted, "Don't you know? It was Samuel's fault in the first place. It was his fault his real daughter died. His wife was working that day and he was left alone in the house to look after their daughter. He fell asleep and she made her way to the kitchen. She found the door leading to the basement open, and when she went over, she accidentally dropped her toy down the stairs. With those steep stairs, she tried to climb down to retrieve it only to fall and break her neck."

"W…what?"

"Of course! Why else would he allow Dahlia to take you in and call _**you **_as their own? Because he was guilty and blamed himself! His wife was getting worse each passing day and he thought, to have you…to keep you and call you 'Ruby'…to replace the black hole he caused, would_ help _Dahlia!" Caelum exclaimed, "…I only needed someone to look after you, Leanne…and he was trying to keep the skeletons in his closet…well, _basement_, to be more precise. It was a convenient transaction for the both of us."

A silence followed Caelum's words. Ruby averted her eyes from the president to her father, who was now gazing back at her with an equally jaded stare.

Caelum raised an eyebrow at her response. "Garth." He called out loud, and Ruby spotted a timid-looking young man in a black suit who had entered the room. "…You called, sir?" said the meek man.

"Bring it here." Caelum declared impatiently.

"Yes, sir." The one named Garth came up to them and thrust an empty test-tube towards Caelum, who took it off him and then placed it near Ruby's cut on her head; she resisted and flailed only to come to a stop when Caelum suddenly went still and –

Ruby's leg flew off, severed at the knee.

"_NO_!" Samuel yelled, as she screamed. He got up from his spot and tried to lunge himself at Caelum only for Garth to hold him back. "Get off me, you damn vampire! Damn you! Damn you all! _Ruby!_ ...Ruby... It-it's going to be alright…everything's going to be alright…okay? Don't…don't cry…"

Caelum laughed loudly as Garth shoved Samuel away from him and the man crumpled to the floor, cradling his previously broken-ribs which were still in the process of healing. Turning to Ruby, Caelum began to stroke her hair as she wailed in protest, "Don't struggle, or I'll do more than cut off a leg. The next thing I cut off will be your head and you wouldn't want that, would you?" He murmured, whilst Ruby sobbed helplessly. Then he moved the test-tube to the stump of where her leg should've been. Her blood oozed out faster compared to the cut on her forehead, the thick red fluid gushing into the vial. Once it was full to the brim, Caelum handed it to Garth.

"Protect this with your life. There won't be another opportunity like this ever again."

Garth nodded.

Ruby watched the vampire plod away with her blood in possession, stepping over Samuel who was still rolling around on the floor in agony. "W-What do you want? ...What are you up to...?"

Caelum suddenly pulled out a handgun from his pocket and thrust it against her temple. "**This**, is what I have been doing this entire time. I took the Kukri knife and the Bowie knife and melted their components together into customised bullets, and I promise you, these bullets _will_ kill you. I don't need the cross anymore; this is satisfactory enough."

Ruby's eyes widened, and she began to scrabble around for something, anything, that she could use to defend herself…maybe she could come across something hard and heavy, to hit him in the head with… Desperately, her fingers sifted through broken glass and the books that had fallen out of the shelf until she accidentally knocked something bulky and weighty. It rolled onto the ground, and then –

A melody began playing.

Gasping and panting, Ruby swerved her eyes to see where the noise was coming from. A music box. The slow, almost broken melody was coming from a music box, which she had knocked over.

Caelum's grip on her loosened all of a sudden.

Inhaling a shaky breath, she felt him slowly rise from her. She couldn't believe it. The music was…soothing him? He stepped backwards, the gun dropping out of his hand. It clattered to the floor, and Samuel quickly crawled over to Ruby, gasping helplessly at the amount of blood gushing out from her severed leg. She swerved her gaze to him, then down to her severed leg…finally, her shoulders slumped and she looked away dejectedly, unmoving.

"_Ru -_ Leanne…oh, _Leanne_…Look what he has done to you…" He sat up and inspected her wounded self, before ripping off a large portion of his shirt to blot out her wound, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…Can you ever forgive me?"

There was no response; she remained silent in his hold, blinking unfocusedly at Caelum, who had moved to the box and lifted it up; it seemed he had temporarily forgot about the two. The music box appeared broken, and it was old, with chipped, rue burgundy paint with the word EMILIA etched on the side, and Caelum appeared occupied, his crimson eyes affixed on the ballerina twirling around and around…the ballerina was finely sculpted entirely out of glass, and one of her arms were missing…

"This…" He murmured under his breath, "…I have not heard this sweet melody for such a long time…Ah, yes, I remember now…I gave this to my love, _Emilia_, and what precious but painful memories it holds…"

* * *

><p><strong>Notes<strong>

1. It was the brides contacting Ruby; they aren't alive but she has a connection with them. Her vampire side activated in this chapter. In OVA 1 and 2, Seras often goes into her berserk vampire mode which is the equivalent of what happened to Ruby in this chapter.

2. One of the Prototype Werewolves is a character from one of my deviantart pics, labelled The Vampire and the Werewolf. It features a guy who is a 'werewolf', has grey hair and wears an eyepatch over his missing eye.

3. Caelum's pictures turned out blurry because this is coinciding with the myth that vampires do not have reflections, and when photographed, come out as blurred figures

4. Emilia's music box is actually playing 'Emilia's song'. But to make it easier for you guys to imagine, I think a good tune which the music box is playing is Lilium from Elfen Lied.


	33. Caelum

Thanks for the reviews! But...YIKES! This is seriously a treading-on-thin-ice chapter. There are more tragedies, and beans are spilled. Here are the **WARNINGS.**

It is **Caelum-centri**c and is a continuation of the events from Caelum's flashback of Chapter 19. If you don't remember what the flashback was about, don't be afraid to go to chapter 19, skip to the end and read Caelum's short memories, before returning here so you have a better idea of what is happening.

I think some insight into the bad guy of this story is mandatory. The only bad thing is that Caelum is an OC, and it is generally hard to visualise OCs. Therefore, I'm not sure this chapter will get a lot of love. There is **implied** **rape **but i really really didn't want to write it XO

This isn't really a warning, but: **BAD GUY SPEECHES GALORE!****  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Caelum<em>

**And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.**

**Genesis 3: 18-19.**

* * *

><p><strong>1950<strong>

* * *

><p>She pulled a coin from behind his ear.<p>

His eyes widened. "What sorcery is this?" He demanded, before he took the coin and turned it around and around, "First, you made it disappear from the palm of your right hand to your left, and then you made it disappear and reappear in my head."

She snorted with laughter at his clueless, blank look, "It's magic, silly."

"…Magic?"

"A travelling magician came to our village and he performed a few tricks at the village square. It's just _entertainment_."

"And…this is not…the work of alchemy or witchcraft?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, of course not. It's a trick. See, I hid the coin in my sleeve…" As she explained to him, explained how she had did her stunt, he found himself nodding along before grinning widely. "Get it?"

"I like it." He exclaimed with amazement, "It's ingenious."

She stifled a giggle in response. "Aww. Look at you; you're so amused by such little things. If only everyone was like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think they'd be very happy…instead of always wanting this, or…wanting that…It'd be a very simple life, right? A very…simple existence…"

Emilia Rosenthal was the first human to have spoken to him for centuries.

But no-one else knew that he has a human friend.  
>She was a girl, too.<p>

Not only was she a girl, but she was attractive, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was bright and witty. She was slender and pretty. And best of all, she was brave.

She spoke to him first.

He thought she was mad, to have asked to know his name before telling him hers. But since that day, he admired her.

Since he met her, he hadn't really been able to get her out of his head. At first, he harboured an incredible loathing towards her. Oh, how much he despised her, for he would dream of her every night. He wanted to kill her because he could not stop thinking about her. It hindered his life, hindered his hunting, his sleeping and his eating. He could not even talk to fellow vampires properly in case of fear that he would somehow expose himself and his encounter with a human. Day by day, he resisted the urge to blurt out everything to Gideon…he longed to tell the Elder about what had happened and the feelings he were feeling now…but he knew he could not, because he was afraid.

The torture continued.

When he could no longer help himself, he ended up looking for excuses to go to the shrine, just to see if she would be there, to see if that curious, bubbly creature called Emilia would be lurking around. One expedition along with a seven hour wait disconfirmed his suspicions. Soon, his loathing for the human dulled into a puddle when he assured himself it was a one-off encounter. No longer did he feel like he wanted to smash her head in with a rock or push her over a cliffside should he get the chance, but now…he had wanted to merely see her.

He thought about what he would say and what she would say. He would often practise in his head when chopping firewood, or when he was fishing, or when he was simply in his room, carving at rocks.

The opportunity came when he was chopping firewood in the forest. He was wearing his most tarnished shirt, the white shirt with the ripped hem and his dark pants and hiking boots. To keep a sturdy grip on the axe, he'd even employed his grip-gloves to get the job done quickly and smoothly. He remembered he was miserable and lonely that day, tired and almost on the verge of exploding in frustration, but then -

"_Hello! It's me again!"_

_He dropped the fire axe that he had raised mid-air and it dropped out of his hands and onto his foot. He was too stunned to feel pain. He looked around; the voice…where had that voice come from?_

_From out of nowhere, that same annoying monkey crept out from one of the bushes and he stared, hard. "You dropped your axe." She pointed out. She was tormenting him, with her elusive, hiding abilities and the capacity to render him a fool. He did not even pick up her scent!_

"_Yes, I know."_

"_Are you okay?"_

"…_I am fine."_

"_Really? …You look shocked to see me. You didn't know I was here?"_

"_O-Of course. I knew you were there, watching me." He had lied. Then he just realised he was trying to impress her. He began to loathe her again - of course he hated her - He hadn't seen her for months! But when she smiled and giggled, those feelings went away like sand in the wind and he felt proud of himself for having lied to her._

"_Well, I'm picking berries today." She showed him her empty basket cheerfully._

"_Yes, so?"_

"_I could do with a bodyguard."_

_He jumped at the chance immediately, "Me." He said, gesturing to himself._

_Damn.  
><em>_He had no idea why he just said that._

_Rubbing at the back of his head, he stuttered, "Uh, I-I mean…"_

_She seemed oblivious by how awkward and flustered he appeared, "Okay, great! Come on, we're going this way."_

Thus, after that fateful encounter of firewood chopping and berry picking, they'd somehow become…friends.

He began using every Sunday to talk to her when he was meant to go hunting or firewood chopping. She snuck out too, in the hour after church just before her violin lessons. They would meet at that deserted lake with the big rocks and trees so they wouldn't be seen, and every time they would meet up, they would talk for hours, hiding in the tall grass. She would tell him things and he would tell her things. They would laugh and joke and chat and gossip even though he was afraid he wouldn't be capable of doing that.

Emilia was easy to talk to because she was open and she knew vampires existed. Most people do not. The majority don't. The truth is, every human will have at least encountered a vampire once in their life but will never know it, whether it be they were sitting on the same bus, eating in the same restaurant, or watching the same movie on cinema in that dark room…

This is because, he explained to her once, vampires were humans. Vampires look like humans. Vampires can go out in daylight after a few months. Vampires can live without blood for a long time.

Emilia then asked, "Want me to teach you a trick or so? That magician was kind enough to teach us."

"Yes, when we have more time. For now, I have something for you."

She put away the coin and rubbed her hands together as he fished for something he had hidden behind his back, "A gift? I love gifts."

To see her smile was a godsend. It made him feel all warm and fluttery inside, and he hadn't felt those feelings for…centuries. He said, "Close your eyes."

"Okay."

He waved a hand in front of her face, to make sure they were really closed. When she did not respond, he took her hands and held them out, then lifted the gift from behind his back and placed it into her hands. "Open them."

She did as she was told, and gasped. "…Wow, Caelum." She looked up at him her jaw hanging in mid-air, "…You didn't have to..."

"You make me feel alive." He found himself mumbling awkwardly, for he had never said such things to anyone, particularly to a girl before, "And it's…uh…it's been in my cave for a long time and I thought you would like it. If you don't, then th-that's okay, I'll just take it back and - "

"Like it? I love it!" She reached behind the box and wound the key up, then opened it and the box began tinkling a sweet and soft melody, the little glass ballerina inside twirling in a slow clockwise circle. "It says it was made in Sainte-Croix…?"

His courage began to build, now that he knew she was pleased with the gift. "Yes, I saved it during the second world war. I was in France when it was occupied by Nazis."

"Oh, I see. What song is this? I don't think I've heard this song before."

"I tampered around with the inside. It wasn't difficult. I call it 'Emilia's song'."

She turned to him in surprise, then smiled. "Hey, what's that over there – " She suddenly pointed behind him and he turned around, his eyes narrowing acutely.

"What? I don't see – " He stopped when she quickly reached up and kissed his cheek. He blinked numbly and wide-eyed, then slowly turned to her.

"Made you look." She teased, grinning at him while he blushed furiously.

"…What was that for?"

"I felt like it." She told him smugly, and he responded with a grin.

"So you like taking people off guard, do you?" He said, before he pounced on her and they went rolling down the hill, laughing and giggling. When they stopped at the base, hidden between the tall reeds and flowers, they were a mass of tangled limbs, and she was lying on top of him.

"Hey, let go." She mumbled shyly.

"No." He smirked, as he tightened his arms which were around her waist, "…Did you know that vampires make passionate lovers?"

"Hmmm…Oh really?"

"Yes."

She giggled again before he captured her lips with his.

….

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Emilia said one Sunday afternoon, "But… is everything you just told me _true_?"

"It's true."

His sister going missing.  
>His fall from the tallest tower.<br>His fateful meeting with Gideon.

"It's true," He repeated himself, "And I've never really told anyone all this except from Gideon."

"So, let me get this right…" She began, "Your name was Caelius and you were born in the 15 or 16th century, at least 100 years after the King of Vampires himself."

"We call him the No-Life King. His name was Dracula but now he is known as 'Alucard'."

"And you were the son of an apothecary owner, you had an older sister, and the village you lived in was one of the thirteen villages at the foot of the Count's castle. And every year, he demanded for young women and men to come to his castle to become servants, right?"

"So, one year," She added, "Your sister signed up to work at the Count's castle to earn some more money. Your mother was against it because of the rumours she'd heard but she let her go because your family was poor and your father was ill. Your sister went away for six months and you never heard of her again so you went to go find her along with the other villagers whose daughters and sons didn't come back."

"When you got to the castle, you ended up inside but found no-one, not even the Count. The castle was also ruined and in despair. You decided to split up to cover more ground and you ended up in a weird room at the tallest tower where you meet these strange women. They tried to seduce you but you didn't give in and they bit you." She reiterated, while he nodded, "In your terror and fear, you tried to escape and you flung yourself out of the window. You fell down but the fall didn't kill you. You had become a vampire. Then you tried to kill yourself by standing in front of the sunrise but Gideon saved you in the nick of time. And now you're here."

"So…what have you been doing all this time up until now?"

He paused to think. He tried to remember. It was hard, for his memory is fuzzy because many centuries have passed and so many important events have passed. But, his most vivid memory so far, he told her, was participating in World War I and World War II.

He said, "I dislike war, but I wanted to help."

"What kinds of things did you see?"

"Terrible things. I am just glad the war is over."

He told her, he liked this life. He finds it very peaceful. He likes living with his clan, and the leader, Gideon. Sure, they live in caves, but when you're a vampire, you never feel too cold or too hot and generally, nothing bothers you anymore. Living with the clan, is like living with tonnes of brothers and sisters. A big group of brothers and sisters who all look out for each other. Some of them have even found their soul mates.

"Before I was turned, I had a wife." He admitted, "But I was never interested in her. She was un-kind and she was vile and spread rumours in the village about my family because she did think we were good enough for her. We were poor and she only married into our family because she had no home."

"Oh…that's awful."

"I am saying this because I have never touched a woman before and I do not know how treat them and I do not dare to look at a woman in a way that would demean them or-or…" He left his sentence trailing. He didn't know why he was saying such things, as he believed those things were inappropriate to tell a woman, but his mouth was moving on its own accord.

She stared at him. "Uh…why_ are_ you telling me this?"

Embarrassed, he turned away, "I…I don't know." He mumbled sheepishly, "Forgive me, I have offended you."

However, she smiled and then to his utter horror and delight, she took her hand in his. "You're so hard on yourself, Caelum. You got to loosen up. It's probably Gideon, right? Does he work you guys hard like slaves? Are you like the worker bees and he's Queen bee?"

"I don't understand."

She sighed. "It's just a saying, silly."

"Oh. Erm…well, I never thought about it that way…but yes, I suppose Gideon is our 'queen bee'; it is how we work. It is how we sustain ourselves. Everyone in our community has a role and we…must fulfil it."

"Or?"

"Or what?"

"Or die."

"That's tough."

"Yes." He replied in agreement, "Anyone breaking the rules will be banished, exiled, staked into oblivion and decapitated."

"All those?"

"Any one of those, depending on the severity."

"So, which one is this? You know…talking to a human? Talking to me…?"

"…This is enough to get me decapitated."

She blinked wide-eyed at him, but when he grinned, she giggled and clutched his hand tighter. "Well, we wouldn't want that now, would we?" She glanced to the side, then quickly reached over and pecked him on the lips. "But I'm glad I met you. You're different, Caelum. You're different than all the guys I know in the village, and it's nice. I'm really glad I met you..."

…..

"You are not to see this girl again, do you hear me?"

Caelum was kneeling down in front Gideon. He didn't know how or why or for what possible reason Gideon could have found out about him and Emilia. But now, he was scared. He was trembling. Gideon was seated in front of him and he didn't know what the Leader would do. Maybe he would be banished. Maybe he would get staked and doused with holy water. Maybe he would get beheaded.

"I thought you would know better, Caelum!" The elder barked at him, and he winced in response, "A human girl! What were you thinking? There are plenty of females in our Order. Why couldn't you just pick either of them and be happy? Why settle for a mortal? They're weak and stupid! That is why we protect them!"

"Emilia's not stupid!" Caelum found himself jumping to her defence immediately, "And she's not like the others! I don't want a female from our Order; they're boring and dull and – "

"Nonsense! So this human girl is more fascinating to you? You think she _understands_ you? My poor delusional boy, she is a human, and human emotions never last long." The elder exclaimed, "Listen to me. Humans will never understand us. They will fear us and if they are strong enough, they will dissenter and demolish us, they will attempt to eradicate our species! They've already started; they have already demonized us as monsters in their texts and legends, forcing us into hiding. We are feared and despised worldwide!"

Caelum frowned, "We're not hiding and we're not being prosecuted! This is...this is the sort of life we chose, it was our own decision. How could you say that?"

"Fine, if you want to see for yourself, then why don't you live in the city for a couple of years? And when you cease to age, see how they will begin to ostracise you and isolate you. What other form of companionship and sanctuary do you have left, but us?" Gideon replied, "We have already struggled to live beside humans, and now that we have finally settled into a place we can call home, don't sabotage our hard work by engaging with a human."

"…But…"

"I will let you off with a verbal warning, because you are young and naïve and I admit I have sheltered you. While I have spoken to humans since my turning, I have kept many of you away. I have protected you from the outside world for your own safety."

"Why?"

"I was once like you, but when I was in the outside world, I found it a terrible and harsh place. You are one of the first I have scoured, and I can see a lot of potential in you, Caelum." Gideon said, "I don't want you tainted, and my other subjects are hardworking and loyal, but you have been the most loyal, and I appreciate what you have done for me and the Order. I don't want you to forget all this just because of a human girl and the feelings she stirs within you. Don't let go of what we have established here. Don't let go of what we have."

"Never forget, my dear boy. We are gifted with immortality, and we have the power to bestow it if we should wish. Humans, on the other hand, do not, and so…this is the biggest difference between us, and_** them**_. They are jealous of us, and afraid! We cannot overstep this boundary, and as I waste away, I wanted to pass the leadership of the clan to you…"

"What? …Me? Why me?"

"Because you are capable of many things…many_ great_ things."

"Have you told anyone yet?"

"No. This is between you and me."

"But I'm…I'm not ready, Gideon; I can't take that much responsibility, and there are so many other vampires who are stronger than me and capable than I am – " Caelum stopped as the elder patted his shoulder affectionately.

Gideon smiled at him. "…I can see something in you, which I do not see in others, and I know you will do a good job…which is why I implore you, Caelum, to give up on this girl before it is too late." He said, "She is not worthy of you."

…..

The next Sunday after that, Caelum decided to talk to Emilia. He had been sleepless and he simply could not wait any longer. Emilia would still be at church but it did not stop him from venturing from the caves to the village.

He didn't think either of the village folk would recognise him, not that they knew about what kinds and how many vampires lived in the mountains. He borrowed one of his friend's suit that they had owned for at least a decade ago and cleaned it three days before, then snatched some aftershave and a non-working, fake silver watch from the human hurdle collection of the clan's eccentric hoarder. Next, he combed his hair neatly, brushed his fangs, polished his shoes and adjusted his tie.

He felt awkward, having never had a penchant for suits and accessories such as these. He just wanted to pass off as being more human. Usually he'd just be adorned in a black t-shirt and slacks and thick boots, nothing fancy, nothing expensive, nothing out of the ordinary.

Outside the church, he waited patiently. He adjusted his cuff links. He dusted at his suit. He stared at the handpicked bundle of flowers in his hand. He tapped at the broken watch on his wrist.

When the doors opened, he rose from the beam he had been leaning against and tried to locate her.

The humans came out in large groups. There was the village baker. The barber. The locksmith. The blacksmith. The grocer. Some village girls walked past him, whispering and giggling, muttering to themselves if either of them had never seen him before and if he was from the city. He ignored them.

And then…

His face lit up.

_Emilia!_

There she was.

She was in her Sunday wear, and she looked beautiful as always, but –

She was carrying an extravagant basket of bright, multicoloured flowers looped around the bend of her arm, and he glanced down at his own handpicked bouquet. Somehow his own handpicked group of foxglove, meadowsweet, celandine and bluebells seemed unsightly and poorly and…

…_who is that man with her?_

"Emilia?"

She froze. She stared at him for a long time, her eyes wide.

The man beside her… Caelum recognised him to be the village doctor, and he was holding her hand. Caelum stared at the duo before glancing at their intertwined hands.

Immediately, Emilia jerked away from her companion. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Who is this man?" Caelum asked obligingly.

Dr Rosenthal turned to the girl then expectantly, "…Emilia?"

She strode forwards, grabbing Caelum by the arm. "Come with me." She hissed, before she proceeded to drag him out from the church ground, "Anthony, don't wait for me." Without another word, Emilia led him away from the village square and behind one of the houses which appeared to be empty although the doctor was calling for her.

They waited until the last member of those attending church service had left, and when they were finally alone, she turned to him and let go of his arm.

"These are for you." He awkwardly thrust the bouquet of flowers to her. She accepted them, but she stuffed them into her basket of exotic flowers as though she did not care for them at all, and he felt a little disheartened. For once, she was not even smiling. No, in fact, she did not look pleased with his surprised arrival at all.

Instead, she asked bluntly, "What are you doing here?"

He was stunned. He made such an effort to make himself look good and better than usual but she didn't seem to notice his hardwork and effort. "I came to see you. I need to talk. It's important."

"I thought we agreed to meet every Sunday at – "

"I know. I couldn't wait." He explained, noticing how agitated she appeared, "…Who was that man?"

"He's just a friend."

"Friend?" Caelum was confused, "What kind of male friend holds hands with a female friend?"

"Caelum, stop it. He's just a friend, okay? We're just…really close, that's all."

"I thought we were close. We hold hands because we are intimate."

"Stop it, please. Now what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I have decided to leave my clan."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to leave the Order. I am going to leave the mountains, and the village. I am going to head into the mainland. I want to move south… I want to go to England, visit London…then maybe I'll go to the United States…I don't know, but I don't want to stay here anymore and I…I wish to start my own family and I want you to come with me. Please."

To his dismay, she gave him an incredulous look in response, "What are you saying? Where is all this coming from?"

"Gideon has forbidden me from seeing you." Caelum replied glumly.

"What? How did this happen?"

"I do not know." He grabbed her hand in his, "But I will not let Gideon stop me from seeing you, or being with you. He does not understand my feelings for you."

"But…"

"Emilia, I am going to leave this horrible place, and I want to take you with me. This village is too small and I know there are more things out there in the world. You told me once that you wanted to leave the village, too. So, let's go. I will take you."

"W-well, yes, I have said that, but…"

"You are…in doubt?" He asked, "I thought you loved me."

"I do, but..."

"Then let me turn you, and we can be together. You will not have anything to fear and we will always be together forever – "

"What? Are you crazy? Let go – " She began tugging her hand out of his but he was holding her hand too tightly, "Let go of me! Caelum! Stop it!" After a few seconds of a brief struggle and she finally managed to push him off her.

He blinked at her numbly. "…I don't understand."

She sighed, breathing heavily. He could hear her heart pounding viciously against her ribs, and her face was white, drained of colour. She was panicking. "Just stop it, okay? I'm not going to go with you. I live here. I'm only 20 years old! I'm trying to study and I still have a father and mother and siblings and I can't abandon them just to be with you. You should listen to Gideon."

Her words stung him. Was she rejecting him? No, she could not be! How could she? They had been together for months and they spoke to each other and they were so comfortable with each other…he loved her and she loved him too. He had such strong feelings for her and so did she! Immediately, he began spluttering, "…What? Why? I would gladly leave my Order to be with _**you**_; why can you not do the same for me?"

"They're my family, Caelum!"

"…So?"

"What do you mean 'So'?" She exclaimed in disbelief, "I won't leave my family behind! And I don't want to be a vampire! I don't want to be immortal! It never crossed my mind!"

"What?" He barked, then he stepped closer to her and grabbed her hand again. "But I love you."

"Caelum!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"Caelum, please!"

"I will do anything for you! I am willing to give up everything for you! I would die a thousand deaths for you! …What you are saying _hurts_ me… I don't understand…why are you being like this? I thought I was the only one who was special to you! Why do you not feel the same, I-I…of course…That man. That doctor. I…I knew it."

"C-Caelum, please…you're scaring me – "

"You are seeing him, aren't you?" He demanded angrily, "How long?"

"…Caelum…"

"HOW LONG?"

She shook her head.

"What kind of fool do you take me for? You've been seeing that man behind my back, haven't you?" He snapped, "Are you choosing him over me? You would choose a mortal over me?"

"N-No, I've always been engaged to – " She stopped immediately with a gasp when she realised her mistake.

"…Engaged?"

"I…No, Caelum, please – "

"You are _ENGAGED_?" He barked, "You are…_engaged_ to that man? Even when you were…even when you met me? Why did you speak to me? Why did you…why did you lurk around and ask me my name and then…ask to meet me? Why did you do all these things?"

Emilia was at a loss of words. "I…I was…you were…I was curious…I-I liked you – "

A disgusting taste rose up in the back of his mouth.

This woman was adulterous!

…A conniving, sneaky _whore_.

Not only did she have a partner, a fiancé, but she had been seeing him the entire time behind his back, too. He remembered everything he said to Gideon, how he defended Emilia when he attacked humans verbally. He defied his leader and even spoke back to him… oh, the shame… Gideon was right…

If she had said, that doctor beat her up occasionally, maybe he wouldn't have felt so bad.

But this wasn't what he wanted.

He liked this girl, and she…

_She cheated on him?_

Humiliation.

Complete and utter  
><em><strong>Humiliation<strong>_**.**

"You whore." He spat at her, and this only caused her to shed a few tears, her eyes becoming red and blotchy. But he did not care. He had never been swayed by tears and he would not be now, either. With his raised hand, he slapped her across the face harshly. It felt good. "You're nothing but a goddamned whore! Gideon was right; you are not worthy of me! You are nothing and I don't need you! I don't need a whore like you!"

He let go of her and she went stumbling, having to hold onto the wall for support, still sobbing and weeping and now with a throbbing, reddening cheek. At the moment, she looked nothing like the Emilia he knew before, but rather she resembled those terrible women he came across so many centuries ago, on that day when he went to the Count's castle to look for his sister. They were the Count's women… but still they flocked to him and tried to seduce him. Oh, how he despised those dreadful women! They struck fear and disgust within him! They were vile and repulsive creatures. And now… Emilia was…ah, the more and more he looked at her the more she became their grisly image.

"Caelum, stop…" She was pleading, over and over again.

The more he heard it, the more in control he felt. That day, he was not in control. The Count's women had him at their mercy, but today -

"Since you are already engaged to another but you seek the companionship from other men, I'll treat you like the rightful whore you are!" He snarled, before he began to unbuckle his belt, "I will deny you the gift of immortality! You have no right to possess it!"

…

Emilia pushed him off her, sobbing and wailing.

He came to his senses after a few seconds, and he stood limply, half naked in the dark and lonely alleyway, amongst ripped clothes, his shirt hanging and his trousers snagged around his ankles.

Caelum blinked, realising what he had just done.

He stumbled backwards, in shock.  
>He had just done the unthinkable.<p>

Then he began screaming.

…

_I have brought shame to our Order._

He had no courage to face his clan, or his leader. He had betrayed and disappointed Gideon in the worst way possible. He would not be forgiven. He would live his life as a fugitive from now on. He had packed up the day before, placing all his valuables and his clothes into a briefcase before hiding it under his bed. He would leave the caves and his family, but he knew he could not stay here any longer.

On the day he left, he wrote a letter and left it on his desk. It was addressed to Gideon.

Gideon would read it and find out everything what had happened.

He admitted he had been living for so long he feared death. He admitted gladly that he was weak, and he was a coward and he did not want to face the consequences of being staked or decapitated. He had lived too long he feared death. He did not know where he would go but he was also not confident in himself to travel alone and he did not know how he would sustain himself. He'd always been sheltered by the clan.

But now he had no choice.

Caelum left his room silently and went by unnoticed, using a pathway in disuse. It was a lengthy trek to the village from the mountains. He deliberately took the long way. By the time he arrived at the foot of the mountain, the sky was darkening. He entered the village but did not know which house belonged to Emilia, yet he walked past all the streets with the rows of all the houses, looking at the windows.

Maybe Emilia was gone…

He was about to give up, when…_There_! He saw her…She was at the top-right window of a small house at the corner. Afraid, and ashamed, he quickly hid behind a wall of an adjacent house. She was staring outside dejectedly, and he knew the last thing she would want to see was him. But he had wanted to apologise, not that he was sure it would make things any better, but if she knew he was leaving and would never return ever again, maybe it would help.

Caelum stepped out of his hiding place. He saw her eyes land on him as he stood in the street in his suit and briefcase and that non-working watch, and he merely gazed at her. She threw her glance down, and he followed the direction of her gaze to realise she had left something on her front door.

The music box.

He looked up, but he could see no expression on her face. The girl was empty and hollow now. Before he could take another step forwards, a man had entered, standing behind Emilia in the house and planted his hand on her shoulder. It was Anthony Rosenthal. Caelum collected the music box from the front door, but then looked up; he had sensed something amiss, and he whipped his head to the direction of the mountains. He sniffed gently. He smelled blood in the air. A lot of blood. With his sharp eyesight, he saw smoke in the horizon.

_Fire._

There was a fire.

Turning back to Emilia in her house, who was ushered away from the window by Anthony, Caelum knew. With the music box and his suitcase in hand, he dashed towards the direction of the mountains.

But he was too late.

* * *

><p>The music box stopped playing the melody, the broken ballerina coming to a sluggish halt, and Caelum turned to Ruby and Samuel, who had been staring at him the entire time during his brief blackout.<p>

"…When I arrived, Gideon was already dead." He murmured, "They were all dead. I only saw fire and smoke. Everything that had been the Black Flame had perished. Our home, our lives, our identity! Destroyed! And who was responsible for the massacre? It was Arthur Hellsing, that bastard! When I took over Oracle, I focused my attention on personal business with Hellsing and Emilia, after I re-established the Order. She looked so shocked to see me when I found her new home, and she was carrying a baby in her arms. At first, I wondered if it could have been my child, but I had been confined in Oracle for years, so it could not be. Regardless, I took her newborn. I wanted to see her miserable."

"But you didn't kill the baby."

"…I looked into the infant's eyes and I saw innocence."

"Then…"

"Do not misunderstand, Leanne. I swore to myself that Mary will be the only human I can ever love, will love," Caelum continued, "…From Dr Kessler's research, I discovered a generous report outlining the demise of Dracula at the hands of Abraham Van Helsing and the specialised weapons; then I found out Oracle had discovered a descendant of Dracula's brides - the Van der Linde's - and had tracked their location. And I took you, for you would assist me in defeating Alucard. You will help me end Hellsing."

Caelum then glanced down to the music box in his hand and placed it down on the desk.

"…Emilia had used me because she was 'curious'… she betrayed me and cheated on me with that mortal man… and chose him over me…and when I came back and saw that my people had been killed…and when I was captured and saw what you humans were doing to vampires in Oracle, I decided I would hate all humans! I fought in World War I and World War II, fighting alongside you… I never once harmed any of your kind and neither did we…no, not the Guardians…"

As Caelum began to slowly rise to stand up straight, Samuel and Ruby began to back away carefully, watching him warily. She could sense it. A murderous aura was surrounding the vampire…it was suffocating…she swallowed down the lump in her throat and as Samuel held onto her tightly…

"I began to loathe and despise every single one of you! You are all the same! All of you… Lying, deceitful… disgusting…despicable…_ungrateful_…Humans are destructive and deserve to all be eradicated! Not vampires!" Caelum screamed before he pointed at himself, "And humans have the nerve to call **us** '_Monsters_' and '_freaks_'? Then what does that make humans? Perhaps you are the monsters, not us! And so, I will create a new order, a new world, a new hierarchy…where humans are finally in their place, and vampires will reign as the supreme!"

Everyone's gaze then swerved to the gun; Samuel dived for the discarded gun first in hopes of turning the situation in their favour. It was only unfortunate he attempted to reach for the gun at the same time Caelum did - Ruby was helpless with her one leg - Samuel was unluckily and inevitably slower than Caelum and as the president reared back up with the gun poised at Ruby, Samuel did the first thing that came to mind.

He threw himself in front of her.

The gunshot was loud enough to make Ruby wince, and she gasped as Samuel's body was sent backwards from the impact like a flimsy ragdoll, and he crashed into the desk, knocking some of the ornaments off the surface. Caelum watched as the cases of bullets went toppling over, clattering over the ground in a mess, then he frowned. "Now look what you've done!" He roared, before he pulled the trigger, firing angrily at him incessantly.

Ruby screamed helplessly as a barrage of bullets slammed effortlessly into Samuel's body without fail, "Stop it! Stop it - _Dad_!" She attempted to shield him but Samuel shoved her away from him.

"I can't…let him…hurt you…" He managed to grunt out; Caelum only stopped when he was out of bullets, and Samuel coughed, blood bubbling from his lips. He opened his eyes faintly and turned to Ruby, and his trembling hand reached to her; she grabbed it and held on, "…_Leanne_… I'm…I'm sorry…I couldn't protect you…forgive me…forgive your mother…" His eyes gently slid to a close and his head lowered, his body going limp.

"...Dad?"

There was no response.

"Dad?" She tried again and shook him, hard. Her voice was beginning to break, and she wailed. "DAD!"

As soon as she heard the sound of a gun cocking, Ruby looked up and found herself staring at the nozzle of Caelum's gun in her face. He had reloaded his gun. She stared, but she did not feel fear, not even when his finger was threatening to curl over the trigger, aiming at her in between the eyes, "Why are you so upset, Leanne? The man despised you and you despised him too. He got what he deserved."

But a man she called father had just been killed right in front of her eyes. Blood tears began streaming from the corner of her eyes. She felt the cool circular tip of the gun pressing against her head and glanced up at Caelum...however, she did not scream or cry with fear. No, fear was the least thing which she was feeling at the precise moment; instead, she felt an extreme abhorrence for the vampire who had her at the mercy of his gun and the so-called special bullets. Her fist clenched tightly, her knuckles turning white. An intense rage boiled within her; she wanted to kill him. She wanted to tear him apart. She wanted to dice and skin him, she wanted to -

Caelum's eyes widened momentarily when his hand that was holding the gun abruptly went 'crack' and his hand bent backwards in an awkward, disturbing angle; the bone was snapped. He turned to Ruby in acute surprise, but she was only glaring at him intensely as she sat slumped on the floor - her eyes were no longer blue but a demonic red hue, ablaze with hatred.

"Why are you looking at me like that? _Stop that_." He snarled at her, having somewhat difficulty in trying to get his hand to listen to him. No matter he did, he couldn't seem to move his hand at all, no, it appeared as though some force was controlling it... "Whatever it is you are doing, stop that right – "

Suddenly, his hand completely ripped off and dropped to the ground; he blinked at his severed wrist and the thin, slash of blood over the white marble of his floor.

"You – "

But then Caelum's chest abruptly burst in a radiant display of blood. This time, it was not her doing. Ruby broke out of her trance immediately and gasped, holding at her head. What had just happened? A darkness had seized her as soon as those particular murderous tendencies overwhelmed her and she blacked out for those few moments. She looked up to see Caelum with a gloved hand sticking out of his chest. "Gahhh!" The president grunted out through mouthfuls of blood, before he threw a glare over his shoulder to see... "_**Alucard**_!"

Alucard smirked wickedly at him, before he began to pull his arm out, hearing his flesh and bone grind together; he snarled, "…I deliberately missed your heart because I assure you, Caelum…your demise will be slow _and _painful…"

* * *

><p>Chapter summary: <em>(Caelum's storybackground)_

The year is 1950, Caelum and Emilia are together although when he first met her in Chapter 19 (in flashback), he hated her because he could not stop thinking about her and did not understand why. He later meets her again and she asks him to be her bodyguard. He accepts.

They become really close and decide to meet up secretly every Sunday noon. As they grow closer, Caelum gives Emilia a music box where she then discusses about his past. Turns out Caelum was once called Caelius and he was the son of a poor apothecary owner born in the 15th or 16th century. They lived in one of the thirteen villages at the foot of the Count's castle and every year the Count would 'hire people to become servants'. His sister goes to the castle for work and is never heard from again for months. He decides to investigates and join a small team of villagers. At the Count's castle, they split up and he stumbles upon Dracula's brides in their parlour and one of them bites him. He throws himself out of the window to escape but does not die despite the fall. His sister is also most likely to have been fed on. Knowing what he has become, he attempts to kill himself by meeting the sun but is saved by Gideon.

Having been adopted by Gideon and his Order, his name is changed to 'Caelum' and he begins to live a new life where he lives by the rules of the Order who have formed a 'pact' with the humans of the village - they live alongside them to protect them from violent vampires in exchange for blood.

A few centuries later and Caelum is now a rather naïve individual. He has also fought in World War I and II and he has not had proper human contact, especially with a woman, and when he meets Emilia, he is fascinated. Later, Gideon finds out about their relationship and tells him to never see her again. Caelum defies Gideon and decides to leave the village and his clan in hope to start a family and go travelling. He wants to ask Emilia to go with him so decides to go to the village to meet her. To his dismay, she is seen with another man and when confronted, he finds out Emilia has been engaged and will not leave the village with him nor does she want to become his bride. Feeling cheated, humiliated, betrayed, angry, confused (almost everything, really), he denotes that she is not worthy of becoming his bride, denies her the 'gift of immortality' and proceeds to rape her out of rage.

When he realises what he is doing, the deed is done and Emilia flees from him in tears. A few weeks later, Caelum decides to leave the order by himself without telling anyone because he is so ashamed. When he leaves, he takes a different path down and inadvertently misses Arthur Hellsing, who has been contacted by Anthony. Basically, while Caelum is making his way to the village, and when he is in the village wanting to apologise to Emilia/see her one last time, Hellsing is killing his clan.

He then sees smoke in the distance where his mountain is but is too late.

Again, some things I have omitted, in which, after he returned to the mountains and found out that Hellsing had wiped out his clan, Caelum snapped. In his mourning and loss and utter devastation, he lost the will to live and completely surrendered when Oracle arrived, and let them capture him. However, he began to regain his will and started to despise humans. After assembling all the other captive vampires at least 5-10 yrs after confinement, Caelum took over Oracle and did the following in this order:

1. He tracked Emilia's new location and stole her newborn, Mary, as revenge

2. He discovered Oracle's notes on how to defeat Dracula by gathering the weapons

3. He discovered the Van der Linde's location, killed them and took Ruby

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

1. The biblical passage at the start of the chapter about Adam was to illustrate the somewhat-parallel thing that happened to Caelum, for instance: _"__Man _(Caelum)_, tempted by the serpent _(Emilia)_, let his trust in his Creator _(though I do not mean Gideon in the literal sense) _die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's _(Gideon's – again not in a literal sense)_ command."_


	34. Epilogue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE DECEMBER 2013**

**Sorry for the repost of the final chapter, but it is just to let you know: the sequel has been posted up! I couldn't think of a decent title though so it is called Oh My Alucard 2 lol... If anyone is still interested, feel free to check it out. Sorry it is a year late TT_TT"**

* * *

><p>This is it! Ending stories is harder than starting them… This was one tough chapter. So hardddd. I totally gave up because of the action sequences T.T But this is the last ever action so yay!<p>

Yes, this is the last chapter. It was meant to be split into 2 but I don't see much point at the mo. I didn't actually realise it myself either. Its over 10000 words. WOW it feels like such a long time ago when I put up Chapter 1. And suddenly BAM! It's the end. O.O

Harry Hill moment: Hmmm, so it's the final battle now. It's Alucard vs Caelum. Who will emerge victorious? There's only one way to find out - and that's…FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!

I think an 8-page fight is enough. Don't forget to read my final author's note.

Also, I have changed 'Ruby' to 'Leanne' in the last half of the chapter.

* * *

><p><em>Epilogue<em>

"Alucard!" Caelum roared furiously as his hand regenerated quickly, "So, you finally show your face to me! It took you long enough!"

Alucard pulled his arm out of Caelum and the president grunted loudly, but it was not enough to make him howl or flail with pain. He merely went forwards, stumbling, clutching at the gaping hole in his chest whilst attempting to recover from the assault; Alucard used this time to make his way to Ruby and inspect the room; the floor was swathed with blood. Ruby was lying near her father with a missing leg. She was still conscious however, and was staring up at him with much agony as he lifted her slightly off the ground and into his arms.

"Leanne," He said, smoothing down her hair in his hands and holding her close to him, "Leanne, what has he done to you…? Your leg…" He need not say more. Growling low in his breath, Alucard turned to Samuel, who was lying beside her unmoving. Another deceased parent… As much as he wanted to get his mate out of here, it didn't seem likely, not with Caelum still here.

_**Police Girl**_, he barked, _**Where are you?**_

Seras' reply was instantaneous. _I'm helping Mr Dornez evacuate workers from Oracle._

_**Walter can manage on his own. Come to the 150th floor, right now.**_

_Eh? But I'm on my way to –_

_**You are needed here**_, he asserted sternly.

_Y-Yes, master!_

With that conversation closed, he returned to Ruby who was gazing at him rather forlornly before she lowered her gaze down to her father. He cupped a hand to her cheek and gazed at her deeply, then turned away to deal with Caelum. "No, Alucard, don't – he'll kill you!" Ruby squeaked, grabbing onto his hand, "He has the Kukri knife and the Bowie knife! He melted them together to make special bullets!"

"…Is that so?" He murmured, and she whimpered when he returned to the middle of the room where Caelum was standing, as though waiting, his wound having healed already. His clothes did not appear to be tarnished as well.

The president glared at Alucard before his lips tugged upwards into a smirk, "It's just you and me now, No-Life King. You have betrayed us all by allying with the enemy and going against vampire-kind. You have no right to be called our 'King'. We will no longer fear you, for today, I will put an end to you!"

Ruby had crawled away with her one leg to a safer corner of the penthouse with her unconscious father in her arms and was now watching the scene in ushered silence.

"You don't even remember her, do you?" Caelum snarled, "...Of course you don't. You have so many victims, my sister does not even hold a candle to them. She was just another human you fed on. But that does not matter; I will avenge her death."

Both elder vampires stood opposite each other. With precise timing, both vampires drew forwards their respective weapons – Alucard with the Casull, Caelum with his customised handgun – and with their fingers curled around the trigger, both began firing immediately. The sound of gunshots repeatedly being fired off was deafening; both vampires blasted each other with bullets from their own side, letting the bullets slam into themselves, yet neither side were backing down.

Blood began to pool from Alucard's wounds and drip onto the floor where he was standing, mingling with Caelum's as his wounds began to make its presence known. Both did not even move from their spots; Caelum fired back in retaliation, gritting his fangs tightly as blood trickled down from his forehead over his face. He was grinning madly despite his injuries, and he was still standing although he had taken at least over twenty bullets that had been repeatedly slammed into his body without fail.

Eventually, what was left of their bodies was an unidentifiable pillar of torn flesh and blood. Caelum was swaying on his bullet-battered legs, his arms torn with only flesh serving as a means to keep it attached to his torso. Alucard's face was barely recognisable; the left side of his face was missing and his jaw was hanging off, the rest of his body was equally appearing as though he had been mauled and maimed, ridden with bullet holes and blood. Both vampires eventually slumped to the floor, their ruined bodies twitching.

The silence in the room was overturned when Caelum could be heard groaning slightly. Black shadows began to engulf him, repairing him in seconds, and he slowly got up to stand.

"…He is still alive?" He exclaimed, although he did not sound as surprised as he should have been, "The Kukri knife and Bowie knife are not enough?"

When he was met with silence, Caelum frowned viciously.

"Get up, Alucard," He snarled ferociously, "There is no point playing dead! You and I are the same. I know your tactics and they will not work on me!"

Sooner or later, Alucard began chuckling and he rose from the ground steadily, having also regenerated. It appeared the special bullets had little effect on him. "I applaud your efforts; you went through so much trouble to gather the strongest weapons known to vampire-kind," He said, "…Yet you should have been aware that although they may have defeated me 100 years ago…Abraham van Helsing ensured I would never again fall to the hands of those who wield those blades! I am their _ultimate creation_!"

Caelum threw a quick glance to his gun and growled. "Fight me properly then!" He barked, "We both know you cannot defeat me with a weapon of man! You are the No-Life King, are you not? You are the best of all of us! Why do you restrict yourself?"

"Fool!" Alucard snarled venomously at him in response, "A weapon of man is enough to render you impotent! I admire you, _Caelum_, because you are not as lowly as other vampire scum I have encountered, yet you are not the one I seek."

"Then perhaps you need some reinforcement…" Caelum retorted, before he aimed his gun at Ruby. He pulled the trigger but Alucard leapt in front of his mate protectively in time to take the brunt of the attack.

Alucard turned to Caelum in rage; he had had enough of enemies targeting Ruby. And with that in mind, Caelum's head flew off from his neck, along with his arm that was holding the gun, having been sliced off in one clean, invisible swipe. Blood spurted out from the stump of the neck and missing arm, splashing over the white marble walls in a thick, crawly mess. Alucard had not even touched him. The head bounced down the steps, and Ruby turned away from the horrific sight.

A small tug on his sleeve grabbed his attention and he turned to Ruby, who carefully unfurled a couple of silver bullets from her palm. "…I took these when he wasn't looking…" She whispered, before she planted the bullets into his hand.

He nodded, but then grunted as he was abruptly bisected from the waist in seconds in the same way he had decapitated Caelum. He landed on the ground near Ruby. He growled before his head was ripped off his shoulders, too.

"Alucard!" Ruby yelped helplessly. She hated being so useless in situations like these; there was nothing she could do except watch as both headless bodies crumpled to the floor.

The president's head was immobile, his eyes unmoving and his mouth half-open, but the room was bathed in raucous laughter that no doubt belonged to Caelum, "Did our previous encounter not teach you anything? You can cut my arms and my legs and my head off as much as you like, but I will not yield and do the same to you! I can keep this up all day, Alucard." The voice mocked menacingly, as his body began to get off the floor despite having no head.

The room fell into silence, before a sinister chuckle could be heard.

"_You_." It was Alucard, as shadows began to repair him instantly, "…I have not encountered an enemy like you before. The rest…they disheartened me. They raised my hopes up, only to sorely disappoint. But you… This is…fun…Yes, this is…so very…_fun_."

Alucard's tone suddenly lowered to a teasing purr, "Perhaps you and I are not so different after all…Yes, _yes_…" He was strangely invigorated and was now laughing with overwhelming glee, "You are dissimilar than the rest, vampire! I can feel your strength! You have strong resolution! You wish to defeat me? Then I shall humour you and let you try! Prove yourself, to me!"

He was responded with Caelum's cackling laughter.

Alucard slowly stood back up, "…Releasing control restriction at level 3…level 2…level 1…"

At the same time, Caelum's body also moved to a stance that was almost similar to Alucard's. From the stump of his ruined neck, a thick viscous, black froth began bubbling out; it was not blood, and Ruby watched in disgust as a revolting sludge began pouring out and was patching his head and arm back to normal; however, more sludge started to gurgle around him as though it had a mind of its own, ensnaring the room into complete darkness.

"Situation A. Cromwell approval is now in effect," Alucard said, "Commencing limited power release until the current target is in complete silence…"

But Ruby was watching Caelum; something was happening to him - his face was shifting, his pale skin bubbling as though there was something underneath that was writhing and flailing, as though something under a flimsy sheet was straining to burst out at any moment. And then, it happened. Caelum then let out a brutal bellow that made the walls tremble, and his skin began to tear apart to reveal a horrifying, flesh-coloured monstrous appearance underneath.

Caelum was grunting and snarling, as his body underwent the vicious transformation. His hands were beginning to change too - they were becoming scaly and his fingers were meshing together into three distinguishable lumps, he grabbed his open mouth with his claws – one on the bottom lip and the other grasping the top, before he tore apart his human exterior with his talons and huge chunks of bloody, blubbery flesh splat on the floor which soon dissolved into black, slushy mud.

He began clawing off his fangs to expose an even larger set of ragged incisors that sprung forth from his gums, his mouth now resembling the mandibles of a great beetle, and a wider, gaping maw that stretched all the way to his ears. His tongue burst apart to reveal a thick, pinkish-purple tentacle with a pointed tip and his hair grew sparse and slowly disappeared from the back of his head, having been replaced with a dozen spikes and two large horns on either side of his head, and as he heaved, breathing heavily and raggedly, there was the sound of flesh splitting and from his back, two leathery, flesh-coloured appendages began to stretch out, drenched in fleshy gunk, tendrils and blood. Wings. They were wings. In a matter of seconds, Caelum ripped off the rest of his fleshy, human exterior and belted out a loud, monstrous roar that filled the room and made the walls shake. Ruby gasped; it was the same roar she had heard when she was in the pod-lift to the 150th floor…

In his ancient demonic form, Caelum began to rise and with a giant swing of his arm, he knocked over the desk in his way which smashed into the wall in smithereens.

"_ALUCARD_!" He roared; even his voice had changed to accommodate his terrifying appearance. This time, the entire building seemed to have shaken from his bellow. His form was gargantuan and he almost reached the ceiling. His appearance resembled an ashen-coloured, bipedal creature, his thighs were large and bulky, veiny and thick and his arms long and heavy. Where his hands should have been, were simply three sharp claws.

"Ah, impressive. You have an ancient form," Alucard commented, "I have not come across a single vampire in the world who has retained or is capable of transforming into this form."

"_Of course! And_ _we shall see who is the strongest, No-Life King_!" snarled the demon, "_You betrayed us, you lapdog of Hellsing! You no longer possess your ancient form! You are nothing but a shadow of your former self! You forfeited the right to call yourself King and to rule over us_!"

Ruby couldn't believe her eyes; Caelum had turned into a being she thought impossible! She hastily whipped her head to Alucard yet he was only in the form she had only seen once, the form where he appeared thin, wasted and sunken, a hollowed-out shell of what he had been. A shadow, as Caelum said. But Alucard was still. He did not even retaliate when Caelum came at him, and Ruby screamed, screamed at him to get out of the way, to avoid the attack, to evade, but Alucard dodged before Caelum could attack and in his place, his hellhound had appeared.

The hellhound and Caelum went head on, its mouth splitting open to reveal an arm which was holding the Casull. A few bullets were fired from the silver gun but Caelum was unaffected, and the hellhound came to a stop as Caelum grabbed it in his massive jaws and bit off a huge chunk of the creature. The hellhound yelped, collapsing to the ground in a mass of dark shadows before it simply disappeared, dissolving into nothingness.

Next, Caelum averted his attention to Alucard; his monstrous fist came crashing down, the impact splitting the floorboards, leaving only a crater behind. The furniture trembled and Ruby was thrown off balance, but Alucard was nowhere to be seen and in an instance, he had reappeared behind Caelum, about to land a blow. Caelum dodged, despite his hulking form. The fight continued. Neither end was backing down until Caelum was about to lunge at Alucard.

"Master!" A voice yelled, and then a hail of bullets briefly pummelled into Caelum's back, temporarily halting him in his pursuits. "Get away from him!"

"_You_…" Caelum growled, his attention now averted to Seras, who had finally arrived at the penthouse. She had her gun ready and aimed at him; however, when she saw his monstrous form, her face drained of colour as he stomped towards her. "_Stay out of this_…"

"Eek!" She squeaked when Caelum smacked her away like a bug and Seras went flying towards Ruby's side.

"Seras!" Ruby quickly helped her up off the floor as soon as the draculina landed near her.

"Ruby, are you alright…?"

She nodded as Alucard threw his gaze to the two as they huddled in the corner, "You're late, Police Girl." He sneered, and Seras whimpered somewhat. "Get my mate out of here. Don't ask any questions."

"Yes, master." Seras hastily stood to pick Ruby up. "Here, give me your arm." She looped Ruby's arm around her own neck to support her before reaching down to pick her up, along with her gun. Ruby did not protest, but she glanced at her father's body. Without waiting for her to speak, Seras quickly added, "We'll come back for him; I can't deal with you both right now. Right now, I really need to get you out of here."

Ruby nodded meekly, after a long hesitation. They began to leave the room and now Alucard's attention was now solely focused on defeating Caelum. He was also relatively surprised that Caelum had no qualms about this, either. As the girls began to leave, Caelum lunged at Alucard for another devastating attack - he hadn't the time to evade – Caelum's jaws closed around the upper left of Alucard's body and his arm, which he promptly ripped off with a fierce jerk of his head.

To Alucard's surprise, Caelum began to chew on his flesh, but his short victory was cut short when the flesh withered into shadows. An illusion! "_Damn you_!" Caelum grunted, and he turned to his side – he had anticipated an attack from somewhere where he would least expect it – and knocked Alucard away again.

However, Alucard was unfazed from the attack and had seized Caelum by one of his wings and with a mighty tug, there was a loud snap and one of the wings went under in his grip like a twig, crumbling underneath his fingertips like brittle. Caelum screamed, as Alucard then went to tear off his second wing, and puddles of black sludge began leaking everywhere.

"_Aaarghh!_" Caelum roared, doubling over.

As Caelum slammed through the walls and into the corridor outside, he got back up, shaking dust and debris off him. With his wings torn off, Caelum collapsed once more against the ground, hissing and grunting.

"_I will not be defeated by the likes of you!_"

Rising again, Caelum went charging towards him with all the strength he had, but Alucard took out the small number of bullets which Ruby had salvaged for him. He slotted them into the Casull carefully and slammed the clip into place; he deftly raised his gun at the rampaging monster, the nozzle aimed directly in between the eyes.

Caelum was nearly there; he was closing the distance between himself and Alucard – no, not yet, it was not time… Alucard would need a closer range, a more accurate shot – and Caelum pushed off the ground to lunge at him, he was about to sink his fangs into the vampire and this was the time – Alucard's finger curled around the trigger and he fired. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. The bullets slammed into Caelum with a force that was strong enough to repel him backwards, sending him flying. He landed on the ground, hard, gasping. In his stunned state, Caelum shook off smoking bullets from himself, and the shells clattered to the floor.

He rose up again for another assault but then –

His body shuddered.

He found himself coming to a stop, before he dropped to his knees. He doubled over and violently threw up, black sludge escaping from his gullet. He smothered away the foul gunk and then felt something wet trickling down his temple. He lifted a hand to see blood from where one of Alucard's bullets had penetrated him. He was bleeding. Realising his hand too, had changed somewhat, he lowered his shaking hands, where he could see his scaly skin eroding away, his three talons splitting and returning to five, ivory human fingers. He was returning to his human form? Caelum grunted when jaws began to detract and his skin began patching up; there was the sound of bones snapping and with a howl, he threw himself to curl over the floor, as his ancient form withered away without his consent.

"…_Im…_Impossible…" He croaked out, when he finally had the strength to get up, he had returned to normal. He attempted to strike out again, but he let out a sharp cry of pain and retreated when his body went stiff. Alucard strode over, watching his enemy writhe on the floor helplessly as blood began pouring from the wounds caused by the special bullets. This time, Caelum did not appear to regenerate. "…You hit me with…"

"Your own bullets." Alucard replied. In his hand, he was clutching one of Caelum's horns which he had also managed to rip off, which he grinded into dust with a squeeze of his hand.

His eyebrows furrowed, "_How dare you_ – you used my weapon against me!" He barked furiously.

"Indeed." Alucard said, "And now, you are wide open for an attack."

Caelum screamed when his leg shot off, in the same way Ruby's leg had been severed by him earlier on. He glared up at Alucard bitterly, blood pooling around him. "A leg for a leg, hah! I like your style…" He grunted, struggling with his missing limb.

"…It is a shame you are a vampire…had you been human, I may have been enthralled by your efforts." Alucard mused as he towered over the defeated vampire, "…Are you not aware? A monster cannot defeat me. The ones who kill monsters…are always humans."

As Seras and Ruby moved down the halls, the ground beneath them began to shake and they turned to each other as the ceiling spotlights started to flicker on and off.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, although she felt like she already knew the answer to that question.

Seras glanced around nervously, as the building walls began to tremble violently, "…They must have activated the self-destruct! Let's just hurry and get out of here!"

"But my dad…"

"Let's just hurry and get out of here first!" Seras cried, and with Ruby in tow, they scurried down the corridor until Ruby came to a gradual stop when she could hear distant, mournful howling.

"Wait!" She retreated her arm from Seras and hopped over to a room with a cage, using the wall for support. "The wolves!"

The blonde blinked in confusion. "Huh?" Seras squeaked, but the brunette was already halfway down the corridor. Picking up her pace, she had no choice but to follow Ruby.

Eventually, Ruby stopped at an open doorway and Seras trailed in after her; Ruby stepped inside, before immediately manoeuvring her way to a large cage. To her surprise, the door was unlocked yet she could see one lone wolf inside. It was the grey wolf - the one with the missing eye - which had been howling sorrowfully. Ruby glanced around the rest of the cage to see a rather bloody mess; her eyes widened when she got an eyeful of the white, furry body lying on the floor of the cage…except its head was missing…

She gasped at the cruelty of it all. _It…it's head has been…cut off…Who could do such a terrible thing? _Gagging slightly_, _she thought she was about to be sick and slammed a palm over her mouth. The walls shook again and Seras turned to her worriedly before tugging at her sleeve, "Ruby, we have to go!"

"A-alright," Ruby regained her composure and turned to the remaining wolf who was still howling loudly. "Come here boy, let's go."

The wolf stopped howling and snarled at her loudly, snapping its jaws at her outstretched arm; she gulped and stepped backwards. But then the wolf stopped snarling and lowered its head to its dead companion, and whined lowly. She gawped at it for a few moments before she mustered the bravery once more to reach out for it and when she attempted to reach out for the wolf-dog again, it did nothing; instead, it gave her a confused look and when her palm crept closer and closer to it, it backed away.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you…"

Her palm finally made contact with the top of its head; automatically, the dog's ears flattened and it closed its one eye. Its fur was coarse, rough and hard to touch. It was then she realised the wolf-dog itself hadn't appeared to have bathed for a long time; she patted it gently before retreating her hand only for the dog to come plodding towards her.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Seras demanded nervously as Ruby smiled; the dog stopped shortly in front of them. "Uh…it says 'Prototype werewolf'…That doesn't sound very good!"

She glanced from the dog, to Seras. "But I can't leave the poor thing here." She reached out for it and wrapped her arms around its bulky body and lifted it out of the cage. Despite its size and weight, she had no difficulty. The wolf-dog went still for a brief moment, then turned to her, its tail wagging, and began to lick at her face, making her giggle. "Okay, let's go."

With the dog safely in her arms, they began to leave the room. Soon, the walls began to disintegrate around them and the werewolves' room caved in right after they departed; there was a loud rumble and they hastily picked up pace; Ruby inwardly hoped Alucard would finish the fight soon and return. For now, they were tasked with sussing out how to exit. The pod lift was no longer working; in fact, the entire elevator shaft was going haywire and crazy, sparks were flying and the touch screen was fuzzy and hectic.

"Mr Dornez!" Seras was yelling down her fitted earpiece, "Mr Dornez, can you hear me? We're stuck!"

There was no response. Seras stopped in her attempts to contact Hellsing and turned to Ruby helplessly. There they were, trapped in the one hundredth and something floor, with no way to escape. They resorted to trampling down the crumbling staircase hurriedly until a figure swooped into view in front of them.

Luther.

Ruby and Seras leapt slightly, as the white-haired vampire stood in front of them, blocking their way. He threw a sideways glance to Seras but did nothing as she then moved herself in front of Ruby and the wolf-dog protectively and readied her gun; however, Luther did not seem hostile. Instead, he reached forwards and grabbed Ruby and Seras' hand and then –

**I have come to get you out of here.**

"Huh?" came Seras' and Ruby's astonished responses. "You can talk?" Seras added, while Ruby continued to blink at him owlishly.

Luther rolled his eyes gently. **I may be orally comprised but I am not telepathically restricted.**

Ruby couldn't believe her ears; Luther's voice swarmed into her mind identical to the so few times when Alucard would speak to her, too. She spluttered out, "What about Mary?"

**My master sent me to retrieve you. I do not disobey her.**

"But the building is falling apart!"

He frowned. **My master sent me to retrieve you. I DO NOT disobey her.**

"Hey, wait – " Seras was temporarily interrupted when she felt her feet leaving the floor, and in a matter of seconds, they had teleported out of the vicinity of Oracle and back to safety. "Whoa!" She exclaimed when she landed back on the ground; she looked around quickly, staring back at the Hellsing soldiers who had been setting up a defensive stance behind their vans. They stared wide-eyed at the draculinas in return.

Ruby and Seras then turned to Luther, their jaws hanging open slightly. **Now if you excuse me, I must return for my master…** Luther let go of their hands and teleported away, leaving Seras and Ruby to turn to each other in confusion.

"…He saved us…"

**Meanwhile.**

Alucard glanced around as the penthouse began to cave in as though an earthquake had struck. The bookshelves toppled over one another and books came flying out of their shelves. Eventually, there was a low groan and Alucard turned to the window behind him; there was a loud 'crack', before the first fracture in the glass appeared from the bottom of the window pane. A few seconds later, the rupture grew and stretched up and up like the branches of a tree, before the window completely shattered. A cold wind began pouring into the office in seconds.

And as Caelum lay crumpled and defeated in front of Alucard surrounded by his destroyed office, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and another, and another.

"…Ah…ahhh …" He was breathing heavily, "…This can't be happening…The bullets are…I did not think I would be vulnerable…urghhh…" No use. The metal was seeping into him and was now attacking every cell of his body, eating away at everything that was of him. There was no way to escape this. Turning to Alucard bitterly, he spat out, "But you…You are still alive…!"

"Of course I am." Alucard sneered at him, "I was defeated once, and Hellsing made sure I would never be, ever again. They designed me to be formidable, invincible…indestructible…From the very beginning, you never should have hoped that you could defeat me."

With that said, Caelum swallowed down bitterly. "…So… So, this is what it feels like to die…" He murmured, before he turned his head to the side; he could hear footsteps, and a familiar figure had entered the room and was running up to him, although the shaking ground was throwing her to and fro as she made her way into the room. "…Ah, Mary…is that you? What are you doing here…?"

"Father!" She fell to her knees by his side, weeping; her hands shook as she inspected his battered body. He was not healing at all. "…No…father, _no_!"

He laughed under his dying breath. "I am not your father… I stole you from your real family on a selfish whim…" A mass of blood was trickling down his head as he spoke slowly, as though each word he said was a strain, "…I had even wanted to kill you when I held you in my arms…Go, go now. Leave me. Leave me be…"

She shook her head furiously. "No, I don't want to. I don't care. I…I know what kind of person my mother was. I was a lot better off with you; you treated me like your own daughter despite what she did to you…you are my family. You're my real family. You're my father - "

He chuckled weakly, "…You are…a stupid girl. How can a human be the daughter of a vampire…?"

"I-I don't care… I don't care that you haven't aged but I did. I don't care if it looks strange. It doesn't mean anything…" She cried, sobbing, and Caelum grunted angrily as a few lukewarm tears spilled onto his decaying body. Alucard turned away to inspect the failing building; Oracle was about to go under soon, yet Mary glanced up at him and said, "I'm not going to leave him."

Caelum grunted again, "Mary…" He murmured, yet his lips formed a weak smile, "…Ma…ry…I had a dream…I wanted a family…It was you…"

And he inhaled a breath, a deep and heavy breath; his eyes closed, and his hand fell limp in Mary's grip as his body withered away into dust.

**One week later.**

"Well, it's been a pleasure working with you on the case of the Order of the Black Flame." Morris said, as he leisurely wheeled himself down the corridor with Integra walking beside him. "I'll be taking this little dude with me." He grinned at Joshua as the dracul carried their suitcases and backpacks.

"Have a safe journey," Integra said, as they stopped at the door leading to the courtyard where their car was waiting, "Both of you have been a great help."

"You're very welcome." Morris shook her hand and tipped his fedora hat at her politely while Joshua flushed slightly as Integra shook his hand, smiling lightly at the boy, "Well, that's us. We're off to catch our flight. Oh, wait before I go, here – " He rummaged around and plucked out a small card from the breast pocket of his suit and handed it to her.

"What's this?" Integra raised an eyebrow as she accepted the card. There was a phone number on it scribbled messily in smudged blue ink.

"That's the contact number of a group of mercenaries I once hired. They're led by a guy called Pip Bernadotte. He's brave, very trustworthy, and he always gets the job done. If you ever fall short of good men, keep this guy and his mercenaries in mind."

Integra slipped the card into her pocket, "Thank you, I'll keep it in mind."

"Well, we'd better get going if we don't want to miss this flight."

"Very good. Farewell, Morris, Joshua."

"Bye, Sir Integra." Joshua smiled at her in response.

Morris turned to the rest of the Hellsing household one-by-one who had been watching silently from the sidelines of the courtyard. Walter was beside Seras who was waving at the two cheerfully; Alucard was standing beside Ruby, no, Leanne, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Since the fall of Oracle and the death of her surrogate parents, the poor girl had been a recluse. It was not a great way to start everlasting life. He had to admit he felt a little bad she had been turned to a creature destined to walk in the darkness. Nevertheless, he said, "It was nice to meet you, Mr Alucard, Miss Ruby, Miss Victoria, Dr Seward, Walter…"

Now it was the dracul's turn to bid farewell. "Bye, everyone…" Joshua said meekly, and immediately there was a hubbub of farewells and goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Mr Morris, Mr Sloan."

"Farewell, Sniffer Dog."

"We'll miss you guys."

"Come back to visit!"

Morris grinned, while Joshua flushed under Alucard's scathing nickname, but then he smiled sheepishly and Alucard grinned in response. At least the feelings were now mutual. "Alright then, let's go." Morris said, wheeling himself towards the car.

However, Seras and Ruby went over to the dracul before he turned to leave and each gave him a lengthy hug. "Bye Josh, you'll have an excellent time in America." Seras said, patting his shoulder affectionately.

"Yeah; don't worry, Mr Morris will look after you." Leanne added, and she tried to smile, but he knew she was upset by his departure.

Joshua nodded in response. "…I'll miss you guys..."

They let him go and watched Morris inch into the car with Walter's help, and Joshua climbed into the awaiting car after; it would take them directly to the airport. Morris and Joshua's suitcases were deposited into the trunk with Walter's help and the butler shut the door behind them. Joshua began waving frantically immediately, and Leanne waved back, a little sadly. She silently watched the car pull out of the yard and disappear into the main road.

After the fall of Oracle, things had been…different.

The reason for the destruction of Oracle was never made clear although it was most likely that Caelum had activated the self-destruct before they stormed the corporation. It was inevitable. His bar self-destructed, his island and fort self-destructed, and now his corporation had self-destructed, too. They spent a few minutes from a safe distance watching the magnificent building crumble like jenga blocks. Soldiers that had been sent in came out. Those who did not survive would forever remain buried underneath the destroyed building. Luther never returned, and Mary was never seen again. Walter had successfully evacuated the last of the human Oracle workers who were then held into custody for questioning as soon as Seras and Leanne were safely teleported out of the precinct thanks to Luther. The receptionist was seen screaming as she escaped from the crumbling edifice.

Integra had a hard time trying to keep the media away. News spread, stating another terrorist attack had targeted a medicinal research facility for reasons unknown, and the young president had been killed and the entire building had collapsed into oblivion. The financial district was closed off.

Alucard re-emerged from the ruins of the corporation with Samuel's body and found Leanne with Seras recuperating at the vans. She had regenerated her leg, and in her arms, she was holding a large grey dog that appeared to enjoy being carried, with its frontal and hind legs folded neatly and its tail wagging gently.

"What is that?" He had asked, as she clutched the dog to herself tightly as though it offered her some form of comfort, knowing that all her parents were dead, real AND surrogate; he knew the creature was some kind of dog but she could not come up with a straight answer as to what kind of dog it was and why she had saved it. And what on earth was a '_prototype werewolf_'?

As Seward tended to injured soldiers, Integra emerged from the van and congratulated everyone for a job well done. That was the end of the Order of the Black Flame. No more Knights. No more Caelum. The soldiers celebrated when they returned to Hellsing, but the Director and her associates remained far from a joyful mood.

Morris had helped Integra deal with the Knights of the Round before Sir Irons sent a message, instructing him to return to America, since his job in Hellsing, in Britain, was completed. Morris had to return to his family, to train their people, the mercenaries and also explain what had happened to his family's prized artefact, the Bowie Knife. Hopefully, he said, he wasn't in too deep water... He asked Joshua if he wished to come with him to the States, and to everyone's surprise, Joshua had agreed. Hellsing quietly returned to normal. However, Morris' and Joshua's missing presences might take some time to get used to.

Another week passed, and Alucard realised he saw less and less of Leanne despite the fact that he believed this was her time of need. Even calling her by 'Leanne' was a little...different, since he'd been so used to her being known as Ruby. Regardless, she was still the mate he had claimed but she was quiet around him and her eyes were always unfocused, not that he blamed her. In her period of mourning over the revelation of the death of her real parents, and her fake parents, he would show her how much he loved her and cared for her, and she would smile and when he would hug her, she would hug him back… but then she would return to her quietness and that distant look in her eye would re-appear, as though she had been claimed by a haze.

Today, he found her missing from his basement. He especially had a coffin built for two constructed. It was wide, awkward-looking and Integra snickered at first but the coffin could fit two people so no more lonely nights for Alucard. He woke up in the two-person coffin to find his companion gone, and arrived upstairs, only to hear from a couple of nosy soldiers skulking around that they had seen Leanne speaking to Integra before leaving the mansion by herself. She did not take a chauffeured car or Hellsing van. Before he made his leave, Police Girl approached him and asked if she could come with him to find her. After he agreed, he followed his mate's scent to a graveyard.

She was kneeling in front of four gravestones, and there was another person with her: Luther.

Whilst two of the gravestones she was kneeling in front of appeared old and as though they had been in the graveyard for years, judging by the stone's dishevelled appearances, the faded names etched on the graves as well as the amount of moss and fern growing on it, the other two stones appeared more recent, with a sharper finish and the names of Samuel and Dahlia etched clearly.

The grey werewolf-dog she had salvaged from Oracle was also here too, except it had an eyepatch and a leash around its neck (not that it seemed to have minded) which was loosely tied around the trunk of a tree. How Integra had allowed this supposed 'prototype werewolf' to stay with them was beyond Alucard's comprehension. The wolf-dog had proven harmless, however. After Ruby brought it back to Hellsing, she had given it a bath and looped an eyepatch over its sewn eyelid. However, when she tried to give it dog food, it refused and growled at its dish before knocking it away with its muzzle.

The dog was sleeping, resting on its paws, before it sensed the vampires approaching. It looked up with its one amber eye, and got up before stretching, then proceeded to shake its fur.

"What is it, Grey?" Leanne asked as she reached over to pet the dog, and she turned around, followed by Luther. The white-haired vampire was not in his usual attire of his black leather trenchcoat and boots, but rather, a black t-shirt and dark-washed skinny jeans and white converses. His mask was missing, to everyone's surprise, revealing a very young and handsome face...even his hair was no longer at waist-length. It was cut short, gelled and fashioned into a spiky hairstyle. He looked like a completely different person... Luther stood up, followed by Leanne.

"What's going on?" Seras asked, as she swerved her gaze to the albino vampire.

"Luther came to pay respects to my family, and Mary." Leanne replied.

The vampire looked perfectly normal until he opened his mouth, revealing his fractured teeth and his slit-mouth. His disfigured maws practically pulled back to reach to his ears. Seras could not help but stare. He took Leanne's hand, which made Alucard twitch somewhat. **I will take my leave.**

Leanne tilted her head slightly, "You don't have to. In fact, you're more than welcome to join us. Hellsing could always use additional help." She replied. "It doesn't matter what you were before. It's what you do now that counts."

**I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I must decline. I wish to redeem myself**, He said, via their telepathic connection, **Perhaps we will meet again.**

"The hospital could help you. They could fix you."

**Leanne, what has happened to me is beyond reparable.**

"…What will you do? Where will you go?"

He thought for a while. **I think I will visit my brother.**

She blinked, "…Brother?"

**Yes, I have a twin brother. He is still alive. After I became what I am, I was ashamed to face my family. I believe it is time to make amends. **He replied, nodding, **Goodbye, Leanne.**

"Bye, Luther, but…just know that you can always find us."

"Thank you for helping us." Seras added, remembering that he had teleported them to safety from Oracle.

He stiffened, then his face went a slightly dark, red hue, before he silently released her hand and turned to Seras and Alucard, who gave him an acknowledging nod. Then, Luther began to leave the cemetery. The group watched him disappear from the cemetery gates before vanishing; Seras then moved to squat down beside Leanne to pat the dog. "He wasn't really a bad person at all, was he…?"

"He's not. He was Mary's servant, and although he listened to her, he also obeyed Caelum's commands, for he was her father."

"So his loyalty was with Mary the entire time..." Seras averted her attention to the dog who was now licking at her cheek affectionately. "Good boy."

"Yeah, Grey's a good dog." Leanne said, as she turned to Alucard who moved to stand behind her.

"You have even named the damned creature." Alucard commented, as Grey began growling at him. He raised an eyebrow in response at Grey's uncalled hostility. "You are not thinking of keeping it, are you?"

"…I don't want to give him to an animal shelter…" Leanne pouted, as she stroked the dog's back, which made it temporarily stop growling at Alucard.

"I like him." Seras said, with a grin. As she began playing with the dog who was now sniffing her curiously, she added, "Leanne, what are you doing here anyway?"

"My real parents are buried here." She said, before glancing up at Alucard. "Sir Integra told me this morning. She also had my mum and dad buried here, too." Leanne dusted her lap before moving to stand beside him, where he wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder affectionately.

"It's nice here." Seras remarked, smiling lightly as she began untying Grey's leash. "How are you feeling?"

"…I... don't know."

"We brought flowers."

"Thanks." Leanne murmured, as Seras lay down the bouquet of flowers she had bought as well Joshua and Morris' share next to Leanne's flowers; because there were four gravestones, she had to spread them equally. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'm going to stay here for a while. Would you like to walk him, Seras? I think he's bored…"

"Sure… Let's go, boy. Let's go." Seras began leading the dog away from the grave, leaving Alucard and Leanne alone.

They watched Seras walk the dog down the path away from the gravestones and out of sight. Leanne turned to Alucard, and he took her hand. He led her to an empty wooden bench near the gravestones, and she sat down beside him. They sat in silence, staring at the lush green hills and the numerous tombstones and the cloudless blue sky until…

Leanne sighed loudly. "…What do we do now?"

He chuckled in response as he sat casually beside her with his legs crossed. "…What now indeed?"

"I don't know."

"When I woke up this morning and found you absent from my side, I was concerned."

She sighed gently, "Sorry. It's just...I never knew my real parents." She mumbled, as she delved a hand into her pocket before retrieving what appeared to be a photograph and a folded piece of paper. "Sir Integra found the location of our burned house. I was hoping you could come with me."

"Of course."

"...I wonder what I'll find there."

He placed his arm around her gently. "Let me see." He took the photograph off her along with the piece of paper. Once unfolded, the paper revealed an address. "Are you sure you are ready?"

"Yeah. And after I do that...Maybe I'll do something I haven't done before, Alucard."

"Such as?"

"I'd like to go somewhere nice…Go travelling... Or maybe I'll take up a new hobby." She said, with a smile playing on her lips, but then, she dropped her smile a few moments later and sighed again, "…What if I end up like Caelum?"

He turned to face her in the seat next, "You fear you would end up like Caelum?"

"It seems…inevitable. One can only live for so long, to live long enough to become sick of life. How long is forever?"

"You seem insightful all of a sudden."

She punched his shoulder playfully and he grinned, "I'm serious. Why do you think he did those things, Alucard?"

"He was obscured by the revolving doors of vengeance and inevitably lost track of his purpose." Alucard replied, "...We all do."

"You mean he went to the dark side?"

"…In your words, yes."

"But I also think it really was because he really was bored. He hasn't lived for as long as you, but…close enough, I guess, and…it must have taken a toll on him. In the end, he was just waiting for death. I'm really surprised you aren't like him…"

"Hmm…" His grin widened; Alucard wrapped his arms around her and spooned her into his lap, lifting her legs to lie over the rest of the bench; joggers and dog-walkers passing them gave them awkward looks but they paid no attention to the unwanted spectators. "What makes you think that?" He purred, as he leant in close to her to nibble at the side of her neck.

"Because," Leanne began, as he buried his nose into her nape, "After everything we've been through, I know what kind of vampire you are, which distinguishes you and Caelum."

"You are forgetting one thing."

"What?"

"He never found his mate. He did not have what I have, which is you."

She glanced down, blinked at him, then smiled, "I hadn't thought about that." She said, before she wrapped her arms around him tightly in response. They remained in each other embrace for a long time until…

"Don't let the darkness take over."

She let go of Alucard in acute surprise. Where had that come from? "…Darkness?"

He took her hand and rubbed at the back before gazing deeply into her eyes, "…You may be brave at the moment, but underneath that tough exterior," He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, "...I know just how fragile you really are."

"…Alucard…"

"But I will be there for you. Until then, do not succumb," He murmured, before he pulled her down and held her close to him again, "…I won't let the darkness consume you, Leanne."

"Uh…well, I don't think I'd – " She suddenly stopped to hold at her stomach, "…Ahh…Owww. Ow."

"What is it?"

"Owww, what the…oww." She climbed out of his lap and limped away from the bench, clutching at her abdomen.

Alucard was at her side in moments, "Leanne?"

As he helped her back up, the pain gradually subsided and she blinked, having returned to normal. The pain had ebbed away as soon as it came. "I'm…I'm okay, I think." She wiped away at some sweat from her brow and turned to him, "That was weird. I'm fine now."

He shook his head, "Come, I'll take you to see Dr Seward."

* * *

><p><strong>Later.<strong>

Seward lowered his stethoscope and looped it around his neck. "You're free to go, Miss Van der Linde."

She hopped off the examining bed, watching Seward return to his desk. "…I've never been to an examination like this before." She said, as she sat down opposite him before she threw a quick glance to the closed door; Alucard was waiting outside for her patiently.

"It is vampire-exclusive." replied the Doctor as he wrote some brief notes in his pad, "From now on, Sir Integra wishes you to attend such health examinations twice a month."

"Sure. Um, Dr Seward…can I ask a question?"

"Yes, Miss Van der Linde?" He asked, as he continued scribbling down without looking up at her.

"How did these…practises come about?"

"Well," The doctor stopped and turned to face her properly. "As you must know by now, I am not exactly a doctor intended to examine humans. There is no specific title for my occupation and field of practise, but these implementations have been derived by Abraham van Helsing and my descendant, who were the first to examine Alucard. Utilising the No-Life King as our prime example, we generally apply these practises to any vampire nowadays."

"Hmm, I take it it's not a very…well-known job, is it?" She asked anxiously. Now that she thought about it more…Hellsing already had a residential doctor who was human, why did Sir Integra ask Seward to come?

"No, it is very discreet."

"Okay, so…is everything alright? I'm…fine? That stomach ache wasn't anything serious, right?"

Seward gave her a light smile, "Miss Van der Linde, there is nothing wrong with you at all." He replied.

She pointed to her stomach, "Then why did I…?"

"You're pregnant." He said, and her jaw dropped; she stared at him with widened eyes, "Congratulations. Mr Alucard will be very happy to hear the good news."

There was a silence; Leanne slumped in her chair in disbelief, then -

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile.<strong>

"Where are we going, Mr Thade?"

"Och, ye'll see, ye'll see. We're almost there, laddie. Ne'er fear, as long as Thade is here."

Caelum was dead, having been defeated by Alucard. Oracle was also no more. Garth, having lost his home, had no place to go. Mr Caelum had given him orders to deliver his blood to Thade, along with the blood of that girl called Ruby. He also had orders to decapitate one of the werewolves and bring its head to Thade, too. Why he had to do these things, he wasn't sure, but Thade had allowed Garth to follow him from now on.

"Why did Mr Caelum ask me to deliver all these things to you?" Garth asked, as he ogled at the dead body of a woman he did not know who was slung over Thade's shoulder. "Who is this woman? Did you kill her?"

"Shuddup." Thade stumbled through the clearing of the forest with his knapsack and the dead body, along with the vials of blood Garth had given him tucked safely into his pocket. In his other hand, he clutched the piece of rolled up parchment to his breast.

Garth trailed after him meekly.

"Och, ah hope ah pronounce this properly." He mumbled under his breath as he put on his spectacles; he unravelled the parchment with much care; the flimsy paper bent under his fingertips although he was not even holding it with much force. It was ragged round the edges and curled, almost identical to a delicate, brown rag. Laying the parchment out before setting all four corners flat on the ground with fat, weighty stones he gathered nearby, he cleared his throat to discard his accent. "Ah, that's better."

Garth stared. "Your voice – "

"What? What about my voice?"

"You're speaking…"

"What? What is it? You mean for once, I'm actually speaking like a normal person for a change? Well, of course. It's all just an act."

"…And what is that?" He was pointing to the parchment.

"You'll see soon enough, Garfield."

Leaving the parchment where it was, he carried the dead body to the stone tablet and dropped it over with intense regard. He tucked the arms and legs together and even slotted a comfortable array of leaves under the head. The body was of a young woman, pretty and blonde, with accentuated curves but still with a thin, childish frame and stature. He looked a little longingly at the woman and sighed gently under his breath.

With the vials of blood, he returned to the parchment on the floor and leaned over for a better view, then he took the vial that contained Caelum's blood and held it high over the body of the woman. Thade began muttering the latin incantation immediately before uncorking the vial and spilling Caelum's blood over the body, the red liquid splashing all over the dead woman's skin and clothes, staining her white dress a brilliant red.

"Blood of ancient vampire, check."

Next, Thade grabbed the second vial out of his pocket and uncorked that, too. He did the same with this vial of blood, too, spilling it over the woman. The blood mingled with Caelum's blood, and slowly began to seep into the tablet underneath.

"Blood of Bride, check."

As he emptied the vial of Leanne's blood, he then delved into his knapsack that was also lying beside the parchment and brought out a soft but heavy, hairy white object; he held it up with his fist clenched around a few matted, blood-stained hairs before he brought it towards the stone tablet.

"Head of wolf-beast, enemy of vampire-kind; check."

He placed the severed dog's head over the body of the woman. Garth watched on curiously and silently. With all the ingredients collected, Thade stepped back. "Now keep your trap shut while I do this and hopefully we'll be successful, alright?"

"Right - "

"What did I just say? Shut up."

Garth glared at him but said nothing; Thade muttered the last half of the latin incantation. When he was finished, he waited. He waited keenly.

Eagerly.  
>Excitedly.<br>But nothing happened.

"Damn." Thade grunted out then, "I knew this was all a fucking joke. This is what I get for trusting Caelum…"

He grabbed his knapsack and flung it over his shoulder before he kicked away the parchment that was still held down by stones. The scroll went rolling, but he did not care. Instead, he thrust a hand into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette before ramming it into his lips; he fumbled around his pockets for a lighter, but found none.

"Garthy. Got a light?"

The younger vampire nodded, and retrieved his lighter from his pocket quickly. Thade grabbed it and flicked it on. However, he came to a stop, the lighter still in his hand, with his thumb on the tack and the flame burning away. There had been a noise, the sound of a twig snapping. He did not know why but he felt a tingle down his spine and a slight chill in the air. What forced him to turn around was morbid curiosity and a sense of disbelief.

But there she was.

She was staring at them, her bare feet touching the twigs and fallen leaves, her front coated in fresh blood. Her blonde tresses were matted and her face was sunken and hollow, blank and expressionless, but when her lips moved, it seemed to bring life back to her. "…What is this place?"

She did not speak English. It was lucky Thade still remembered Old Romanian, the language of the ancients; he dropped his lighter and the cigarette fell from his mouth while Garth stared on with widened eyes. Thade was on his knees and his palms were flat on the ground, his fingers curled and scrunched with dirt.

"You are in the world of the living. The 21st Century, mi'lady, about six hundred years after Abraham Van Helsing stormed our castle." He replied, before slowly, and almost meekly, he raised his head to gawp at the woman standing in front of him.

She was beautiful, but…

This was Dracula's first bride.

Her thin, sweet pink lips tugged into a cruel smile. "…I see." She murmured, "…Yes, I remember you. You were one of our stablehands…"

"Yes, mi'lady, I have never stopped serving by your side."

"Where are my sisters?"

"...There were complications, mi'lady."

She raised a delicate, blood splattered eyebrow, "What happened?" She asked, but then she gasped, and she stumbled slightly, having to hold onto the sacrificial stone for support. She clutched at her neck, gasping; her soft gaze fluttering to her pale, thin hand before she began to inspect the rest of her new, sinewy body. "This body…it is not mine! Ah…I remember now…Van Helsing's horrid blade descended upon my neck and my existence ceased to be…My sisters…_no_!"

He was seized with a great fear that she would want to punish the next thing she would see, would try and throttle him or kill him, but nothing happened. And when she knelt down slowly in front of him, he inched away cautiously.

"You have done very well, lowly servant, to bring me here. What is your name?"

"T-Thade, mi'lady…"

"And your name is?" She had turned to Garth. "Who is he?"

Thade turned round and hissed at him, "Get down on your knees, now!"

Garth did as he was told immediately, and the once-dead woman who was now-alive stepped over to him.

"This lowly creature is called Garth, mi'lady; he is young and he has much to learn, but he assisted in your return." Thade replied. She was beautiful, even though she possessed an already-deceased body, but Thade did not see the blonde woman who was killed but the woman inside, the woman Dracula fell in love with and desired because of her otherworldly charm and beauty…

"Thade, Garth. How shall I reward you both for your fine, hard work?" She purred with those luscious lips, and he swallowed, as she reached a hand and began playing with a lock of his curly hair with her lithe fingers.

"U-Uh…I-I-I…w-we don't need…don't need…n-no reward, mi'lady, I just want to stay by your side…I'll do anything for you…" Thade found himself mumbling like zombie, mesmerised by those scarlet eyes that were gazing so intently back at him…

"Anything…?" She murmured, and he nodded, while Garth continued gaping in disbelief. "Yes…There is something you can do for me."

"…Y-Yes?"

"Where are the accursed Van Helsing? I will have my vengeance."

"T-They…um…well, they are…well…and your husband, mi'lady, he is…ah…how should I say this…?"

"Ah. My husband." She snickered, "Where is that unfaithful husband of mine? What village swine is he seducing now? I want to meet the whore…"

Her eyes slid to a close, narrowing into slits, but he realised she was actually smiling, her lips smiling so widely, so viciously of pure malevolence intent, and Thade forgot all about her beauty, and what he saw, hidden underneath that defenceless human exterior, was truly a terrifying creature which he had just unleashed into this world.

…**END...**

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><p>I have a final message containing my final author's notes, final OC profiles and stuff about the sequel that is unfortunately something I am debating on. But there's not much I can add here because a lot of things have been explained in the story or from my author's notes.<p>

If there's anything you are not clear about regarding the story, you can PM me, but I advise you to re-read, now that Chapters 30 onwards has explained the truth, and you know why this happened/how/what, and you can piece together my tiny hints that have been spread throughout the entire story. Hmm, that being said I actually do not know if there is anything I have not explained…At some point, I'll also go back and re-edit and go over mistakes.

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><p><strong>FINAL AUTHORS NOTE:<strong>

1. I wanted to write more…but for some reason, I couldn't think of anything else after Caelum's defeat and I didn't feel I needed an extra chapter to wrap things up. Nothing came to mind. I might write something bout Samuel cos...I don't feel like Ruby/Leanne received any closure at all, so I might do some editing.

2. I think Caelum's ancient demon form would have him sounding like Hugo Weaving hehe.

3. Caelum's ancient form was also homage to Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992 movie

4. **OPTIONAL NOTE. Read this if you dare!** Ok, remember Caelum tells Alucard that 'Ruby will never be his'? Now that is because, in the original version, he molested her. I decided to drop this.

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><p><strong>FINAL OC PROFILES:<strong>

**Name:** Leanne Van der Linde/Ruby Ashcroft _(vampire)_

Alucard's Fourth Bride and mate; her real parents were killed by Caelum and replaced with surrogate parents who were instructed to monitor her closely as she grew up. She is most likely Dutch/Swedish descent. While Alucard is dere dere, she is tsundere. Her berserk, vampiric mode is triggered depending on situation/intense emotions as well as a vital connection to the Brides. She has been warned by Alucard not to let the darkness consume her although she doesn't know what this means. She is now pregnant.

**Name:** Alucard

I decided to add Alucard's profile for fun. He was initially attracted to Ruby/Leanne out of lust and constantly went after her; he also treated her as a possession and verbally stated that he did not care for her. However, after she was kidnapped by Sloan's men, he relents and begins to cherish her onwards, after realising how easy it was for her to be lost to him. Alucard continues to pursue Ruby until she reciprocates his feelings. Despite how acrimonious their relationship was, they always looked out for each other.

**Name:** Caelius/Caelum _(vampire)_

The Leader of the Black Flame Knights and President of Oracle Corporation. He is an influential vampire who stole the baby of his former human lover as revenge yet took her in as his own daughter. Caelum's actions are rather unambiguous throughout the story until the very end. Even then he gave Hellsing the false pretence that he wanted to kill Alucard with the weapons used by Abraham Van Helsing, when in fact, he was creating a diversion for Thade who was helping him resurrect the First Bride to finish what he started. Unlike Alucard, he retained his ancient demonic form but was defeated by the bullets he made himself. When dismembered, he has also shown to ooze out putrid, black sludge. In his own flashback chapter, we find out that he was good before he was betrayed by Emilia and his entire clan was massacred, which drove him mad. In the end, we find out he only wanted a family, which he found in Mary. Leanne believes he had grown tired and bored of living and simply awaited death. He is now deceased.

**Name:** Luther Lestat _(vampire)_

He is last seen paying his respects to Mary and to Leanne's parents. Before Mary returned to Caelum, she told Luther that she is no longer his Master and told him to live life free of servitude. However, Luther attempted to return to Mary with no success as Oracle crumbled. Leanne asks him if he would like to join Hellsing but he refuses, telling her he has much to think about and that he will go visit his twin brother, the last of his family, who is living in an old people's community centre. Despite Luther's fearsome appearance, he is quite popular with children and had looked after Mary and Leanne respectively. Although I categorised him as a baddie in an earlier profile, Luther is actually neutral; and his surname is also homage to Anne Rice :)

**Name:** Thade Nuvos _(vampire)_

He is one of Dracula's servants from his castle who fled the castle after Abraham Van Helsing arrived; he met Caelum and has been tasked in watching over Bal'allan mountains where he will conduct the resurrection once Caelum has gathered all the 'ingredients', with the last one being blood of bride, ie, Leanne's blood.

**Name:** Grey _(werewolf)_

He has grey fur and one eye. He was saved from Oracle and is related to Captain. Prototype werewolves are wolf-dogs bred by Oracle and injected with the DNA of a werewolf. They turn during a full-moon, but they can also turn human; since they were not human to begin with they retain animal instincts. Grey's mother was killed (the white werewolf). He is only 2 years old. He is a character that appears in my deviantart pics 'Taming of the Werewolf', 'Past and Present' and 'Get up to the Down' where he is featured alongisde a character called 'Vampire'.

**Name:** Mary Lynch/Rosenthal

Emilia's daughter who was stolen by Caelum. Although he wanted to kill her at first, he could not bring himself to and instead, he swore that Mary would be the only human he would be capable of loving. Although Mary knew deep inside that she was stolen, and the fact that her 'father' is a vampire who hasn't aged and looks years younger than she is now, she loved him (family-love) and didn't leave his side when he died, perishing together.

**Name:** Frankie Morris

Although he no longer wields the Bowie Knife, Morris is optimistic and is returning to the US with Joshua. Before he leaves, he gives Integra a card with the contact information for Wild Geese, a group of mercenaries he recommended should there be any…'problems'.

**Name:** Samuel Ashcroft

He was a Researcher at Oracle, married to fellow researcher Dahlia, who was looking after their 3 year old daughter Ruby at home whilst Dahlia was at work. However, he fell asleep, left her on her own and she fell down the stairs of their basement. When he woke up, she was already dead. Upon Caelum's instruction, he buried her body in the basement despite the pleads from his distraught wife. When Caelum presented a kidnapped Leanne to him, he agreed to look after her and was pleased when Dahlia took in Leanne immediately and called her 'Ruby'. Over the years, his guilt eventually consumed him and he grew to despise Leanne/Ruby but at the same time, he was trying to push her away because Caelum would return for her. He is killed by Caelum at the end.

**Name:** Jack Seward

He is a doctor who specialises in humans and vampires, and informs Leanne of her pregnancy.

**Name:** Joshua

Having finally settled the friction between himself and his father's murderer (Alucard), he has decided to move with Morris to the US.

**Name:** Garth

Garth has been delivering strange items to Thade, and with Caelum's death, he is following the Scottish vampire, only to realise their goal was to resurrect the First Bride.

**Name:** ?

Her soul was summoned from Hell and has possessed the body of a woman killed by Thade. The entity is Dracula's First Bride, and considered the most powerful/rebellious/cruellest out of the three, now bent on finding her husband, and administering revenge on the Hellsing's.

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><p>Thank you all for reviewingalerting/favouriting! Thank you for taking the time to read this story and telling me what you think, for the kind words and praise, for the constructive criticism and taking the time to point out what I did best and what I could improve on. I could not have done it without you. I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you all!

Fish and Chipz xxx


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